Department for Transport

Motorways: Safety

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how long in total hours (a) Stopped Vehicle Detection systems and (b) overhead warning gantries have been offline as a result of technical failures across the smart motorway network in the last 12 months.

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many incidents occurred in which (a) Stopped Vehicle Detection systems and (b) overhead warning gantries were offline as a result of technical failures across the smart motorway network in the last 12 months.

Mr Richard Holden: Smart motorways have a whole system of inter-related safety features, not present on conventional motorways, which means there is no over-reliance on one single feature. When outages do occur, National Highways has well-rehearsed procedures to deal with issues when they arise and additional measures can be taken to limit any impact on drivers, including extra traffic officer patrols and virtual CCTV patrols.For the month of September 2022, the national availability of Stopped Vehicle Detection technology was recorded at over 98%, and for warning signs at over 90%. National Highways has already taken action to continue to improve warning signs availability to meet the 95% availability target they have.

Railway Stations: Tickets

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of train stations in (a) Surrey, (b) Hampshire, (c) Buckinghamshire and (d) Cambridgeshire have contactless pay-as-you go ticketing as of 1 November 2022.

Huw Merriman: Whilst we do not hold data by county, contactless pay-as-you-go ticketing extends to many stations around London, including Epsom in Surrey and Amersham in Buckinghamshire, via Transport for London’s Contactless system.Pay-as-you-go is also available via smartcard products, such as KeyGo and Tap2Go, which cover some of Surrey and Cambridgeshire, and the majority of Hampshire.

Railways: Timetables

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of rail operators changing timetables without formal public consultation on rail passengers.

Huw Merriman: I refer the Hon. Member to the Answer given to her on 7 November 2022 , to Written Question 76144.

Railways: Timetables

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of rail operators changing timetables without formal public consultation on rail passengers.

Huw Merriman: As the pandemic has changed travel habits, operators have had to rapidly reassess their services to provide timetables that meet new passenger travel patterns, are fit for the future, and carefully balance cost, capacity and performance.   This has constrained the timescales to conduct traditional consultations; however train operators have been working closely with local markets and stakeholders, including passenger groups, Members of Parliament, and local and mayoral authorities, to find the best solution to the needs of the local community and run reliable services within existing operational constraints.The new timetables are demand-led and built with flexibility in mind, so if passenger numbers increase as we continue to recover from the pandemic, we can look to accommodate additional services. Where operators have modified their timetables, the changes will be kept under review and, where appropriate, adjusted to reflect fluctuations in demand.

Southeastern: Standards

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it remains his Department's policy to rebuild trust in Southeastern Railway; and if he will make statement.

Huw Merriman: The Department has tasked Southeastern with prioritising the delivery of punctual, reliable services that passengers deserve carefully balancing cost, capacity and performance.

Southern: Timetables

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department was (a) consulted on and (b) approved Southern Rail's plans to change its timetable of services from December 2022.

Huw Merriman: There are only minor changes being made to the Southern timetable as part of the December 2022 timetable change. The Department reviewed and approved these in Spring 2022.

Railways: Standards

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) train services and (b) passenger journeys in each week in (a) September 2019 and (b) September 2022.

Huw Merriman: Statistics on the number of trains planned to run and the number of passenger journeys undertaken are both published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Trains planned to run are published on a periodic basis with each period covering a four-week interval. Statistics on the number of train services that ran are not publicly available. Table 1 below presents the number of planned services. The numbers below take into account the impact of industrial action.Table 1: The number of trains planned to run, Great BritainPeriodTrains Planned2019-20 Period 06 (18th August 2019 – 14th September 2019)606,8932022-23 Period 06 (21st August 2022 – 17th September 2022)553,679Source: ORR Table 3124 - Train planned and cancellations by operator and cause (periodic)Statistics presenting passenger journeys are below in Table 2. These statistics are published on a quarterly basis. Statistics for the number of passenger journeys covering September 2022 are not due to be published by ORR until 15th December 2022.Table 2: The number of passenger journeys (million), quarterly, Great BritainQuarterlyPassenger Journeys (million)Jan to Mar 2019443.2Apr to Jun 2019437.5Jul to Sep 2019447.7Oct to Dec 2019461.2Source: ORR Table 1223: Passenger journeys by operator, Great Britain, April 2011 to June 2022

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of public electric vehicle charging points in disrepair.

Jesse Norman: The Government does not collect or hold data on the operational status or condition of public or private chargepoints.

Public Transport: Night-time Economy

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of night-time public transport on the night-time economy.

Mr Richard Holden: We have been clear through the National Bus Strategy that partnerships and franchising arrangements must deliver more comprehensive services, including those which are socially or economically necessary. As part of the Strategy the Government plans to issue new guidance on ‘socially necessary’ services, expanding the category to include ‘economically necessary’ services such as those supporting the night time economy.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Conditions of Employment and Pay

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made about the adequacy of (a) wages and (b) facilities including (i) overnight parking, (ii) truck stops and (iii) service station amenities for HGV drivers in transit.

Mr Richard Holden: The Government is aware that levels of HGV driver pay are rising and some operators are offering more options for flexible working and varied working patterns. It is estimated that gross weekly median wages for HGV drivers have increased by 8% between 2019 and 2021, more than thegross weekly median wages for all UK employees.We’re committed to improving facilities for HGV drivers – with plans for investment in improving roadside facilities in England. Details will be published in the coming months.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has made to improve the (a) recruitment of and (b) the retention of HGV drivers.

Mr Richard Holden: The Government has invested £34 million to train up to 11,000 more people to become HGV drivers, provided funding support for apprenticeships, and the Department of Work and Pensions has used the Job Centre Plus network to support appropriate jobseekers to train as drivers. The Government also has plans to invest in improving roadside facilities in England, details of which will be published in the coming months.

Transport: Infrastructure

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) roads, (b) rail and (c) other transport infrastructure since December 2019.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport’s Annual Report and Accounts provides accounting and expenditure information for each financial year. The financial overview section includes an analysis of spend by mode.The DfT Annual Report and Accounts can be accessed via the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-annual-reports-and-accounts

Department for Transport: Correspondence and Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Jesse Norman: The Department understands the importance of the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions and correspondence. Between the period of May to July inclusive the Department for Transport answered 100% of Parliamentary Questions on time and 98% of ministerial correspondence cases in 20 working days in May and June and 96% in July.The Department will continue to focus on delivering excellent response rates to both Parliamentary Questions and correspondence.

Department for Transport: Public Consultation

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) consultations and (b) calls for evidence issued by his Department are closed but have not been responded to as of 12 July 2022.

Jesse Norman: The information requested could only be provided at a disproportionate cost

Public Transport: Employment

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of employment opportunities in area’s with and without night time public transport.

Mr Richard Holden: The Government recognises the vital role public transport plays in getting people to and from work at all times of the day and night. The National Bus Strategy published last year, recognises the important role buses play in meeting local transport needs. The Strategy is clear that Partnership and franchising arrangements must deliver more comprehensive services, including those which are socially or economically necessary. This includes more services in the evenings and at weekends.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on advances in technology to improve on current pothole patching techniques; if he will allocate funding to development of those technologies; and what steps his Deparment is taking to tackle the prevalence of potholes in Strangford constituency.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department works closely with highways stakeholders such as the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport and the Local Council Roads Innovation Group who regularly showcase innovative ways to fix potholes and ensure we have well maintained roads. We fund innovative new ideas including road technologies through our well-established Transport Research Innovation Grant (T-TRIG) programme, and the ADEPT Live Labs programme.Whilst roads in Northern Ireland are a devolved matter, NI is a valued member of the UK’s Road Leadership Group, which brings together the four nations of the United Kingdom so that best practice in highway maintenance can be shared across the country.

Electric Scooters: Accidents

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road traffic accidents involving an e-scooter there were in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to undertake a review of the power, weight and speed specifications of rental and private e-scooters.

Jesse Norman: The number of reported personal injury road collisions involving e-scooters is published as part of the Department’s road casualty statistics. These show that there were 460 reported collisions involving e-scooters in 2020, and 1,352 in 2021. Provisional figures covering the period to June 2022 are scheduled for publication on 24 November.The Department is currently considering options for construction and use regulations for e-scooters, which will likely include requirements for details such as power, weight and maximum design speed. No final decisions about e-scooter regulations have been made and the Department will consult publicly before any new arrangements come into force.

Roads: Safety

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he intends to publish the Road Safety Strategic Framework.

Mr Richard Holden: The Road Safety Strategic Framework will be published in due course.

Driving Licences: Kosovo

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will consider recognising Kosovan driving licences.

Mr Richard Holden: We already recognise Kosovan driving licences. Holders of a valid Kosovan driving licence can drive small vehicles (cars up to 3,500kg and motorcycles), provided entitlement is shown on their licence, for 12 months from the date they become resident in GB or 12 months from the date they enter the country if they are visiting. To continue driving after this time, residents must obtain a GB licence.Officials are currently progressing the work needed to introduce an exchange arrangement for Kosovan driving licences, subject to a public consultation and the necessary legal process. This would allow Kosovan licence holders resident in GB to obtain a GB licence without the need to take a test.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the conclusion of the Independent Complaints Assessors on the impact of his Department's policy on personalised number plates in their Annual Report 2020-21, published on 25 December 2021, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of amending the Retention and Sale of Registration Marks Regulations 2015 to allow more flexibility for customers wishing to retain personalised licence plates.

Mr Richard Holden: The law allows customers to purchase the right to display a personalised registration number on their vehicle and requires the right to that registration number to be renewed before it expires. Entitlement to registration numbers under this scheme lasts for ten years. Reminders are sent to customers in advance of expiry. If an application is not made to extend the entitlement, the right to display the personalised registration number is lost. There are no plans to change the current legal requirements in this area.

Railways: Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the Government has noted publish EMA and EMRA management and performance fees since the period covering September 2020 to March 2021.

Huw Merriman: The Department has only very recently completed the evaluation of the performance of Operators covering the period between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022. The Department is committed to regularly publishing payments payable to train operating companies on gov.uk, and has done so a number of times since the beginning of the pandemic, and intends to publish updated information on gov.uk in due course.

Roads: Expenditure

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) strategic and (b) local roads since December 2019.

Mr Richard Holden: For the Strategic Road Network (SRN), which is managed by National Highways, funding is allocated in 5-year road periods which align to Road Investment Strategies. Please note that the funding covers National Highways' total expenditure during this period, covering both Capital and Resource spend. The total spent from December 2019 up to September 2022 is £12.7 billion.For local roads, highways maintenance and pothole funding is allocated to local highway authorities by formula and can be spent on any part of the highway including bridges and lighting, not just the road itself. Within the total figure stated below, for the spend in 2022/23 this includes the local highways formula funding that has been rolled into City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) funding settlements. The total figure below also includes the Integrated Transport Block which is for small-scale transport improvements including safety, cycling and bus improvement measures; and bid based funding for specific projects including the Challenge Fund, Safer Roads Fund, Local Growth Fund, and the Major Road Network/Large Local Major Fund.For the complete financial years 2019/20 to 2021/22, plus the forecast spend for 2022/23, the total is £7.608 billion.The figures above don’t include any discretionary funding that other Government Departments may have provided to local authorities for spending on local infrastructure.

North Kent Line

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains on the Woolwich line stop at Erith station between 7.00am and 9.30am; and how many trains destined for (a) Charing Cross and (b) Cannon Street will stop at Erith station between those times after 11 December 2022.

Huw Merriman: Under the current May 2022 timetable, there are 14 passenger services in each direction that stop at Erith between 0700 and 0930 on weekdays. Of the London bound services; Nine are for London Cannon Street via Abbey Wood and five are for London Charing Cross. After 11 December, there will be 12 services in each direction to/from London Cannon Street via London Bridge between 0700 and 0930.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Electricity Generation: Carbon Emissions

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his timescale is for outlining the details of the revenue cap on low carbon electricity companies; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The Government will provide an update on this matter in due course.

Small Businesses: Energy

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of small businesses that have moved their businesses online because they were not able to afford their energy bills in the latest period for which data is available; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has made no estimate of the number of small businesses which may have taken the decision to move their activities entirely online.

Brexit

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's priorities are for pursuing post-Brexit opportunities.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is committed to taking full advantage of the benefits of Brexit, including through the Retained EU Law (REUL) (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which had Second Reading on 25 October. The Bill will end the special legal status of all REUL and make it more easy to amend, repeal or replace. This will allow us to create a more agile and innovative regulatory environment, and reform our laws and regulations to best fit the needs of the UK and boost economic growth.

Brexit and EU Law

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department retains responsibility for Brexit transition and retained EU law following his appointment.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The responsibility for Brexit Opportunities and retained EU law remains with BEIS.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: EU Law

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spent on (a) staff activity related to the review of retained EU law, (b) IT costs related to the maintenance of the retained EU law database and (c) staff activity related to the passage of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill in the period between 1 September 2022 to 27 October 2022; and how much funding his Department has allocated for these purposes for the rest of the 2022-23 financial year.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has spent approximately £600,000 on staff activity related to the review of the department's retained EU law (REUL) in the period 1 September to 27 October 2022. The machinery of government change, moving the Brexit Opportunities Unit from Cabinet Office to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is underway and resourcing requirements related to the passage of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and maintenance of the REUL Dashboard will be confirmed in due course.

Heating: Renewable Energy

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to replace gas boilers in domestic properties with more renewable heating sources.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to decarbonising heating by 2050 and has set an aim to phase out the sale of new and replacement gas boilers by 2035. As well as introducing a package of measures including the £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme and £60m in heat pump innovation to increase deployment of heat pumps, the Government will be expanding heat networks through the Green Heat Networks Fund as well as zoning and assessing the feasibility, costs and benefits of using hydrogen for heating to inform a decision to be taken on the role of hydrogen for heating in 2026.

Tidal Power: Finance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) representatives of the fishing industry on the potential merits of increasing investment in tidal energy.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not yet had discussions on investments in tidal energy. The British Energy Security Strategy affirms that the Government will explore the potential of tidal power to contribute to a net-zero compliant future.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Correspondence and Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department is committed to responding to Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence in a timely manner. Between May and July inclusive, on average over 95% of PQs and 81% of enquiries from Members of Parliament were answered on time by BEIS, exceeding its departmental performance standard. To complement the work of the Parliamentary Capability Team, the department also runs tailored training sessions for BEIS staff specific to PQs to improve the quality and timeliness of our responses. For correspondence, it has improved the efficiency of the end-to-end correspondence process and is exploring other initiatives, such as digital solutions.

Energy Bills Rebate: Meters

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that energy companies are providing customers with vouchers for electricity pre-payment meters under the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Graham Stuart: Suppliers should take action to encourage all traditional pre-payment customers to redeem their EBSS payment during the scheme month. Replacement credit can be issued up until the scheme closing date of 30 June 2023. Suppliers have an obligation, and must be able to evidence, that they have attempted to make a minimum of three attempts to contact customers who have not redeemed their payment by at least two different methods – including at least one month before the expiry of the unredeemed EBSS payment. If a customer requests an expired voucher be reissued, suppliers should comply with the request.

Oil: Shetland

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment he has made of the compatibility of Equinor developing the Rosebank oil field with the decarbonisation targets for industry as set out in the North Sea Transition Deal.

Graham Stuart: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Norwich South on 1st November 2022 to Question 69713.

Offshore Industry: Carbon Emissions and Climate Change

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the oil and gas licensing round on the UK's (a) carbon budget (b) net zero target and (c) commitments towards international climate targets.

Graham Stuart: The opening of the most recent licensing round by the North Sea Transition Authority followed the publication of the Climate Compatibility Checkpoint. The North Sea Transition Deal includes emissions reduction targets consistent with government’s Net Zero Strategy, which establishes the UK pathway for carbon budgets and international targets.

Energy Bills Rebate: Northern Ireland

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 22 to Question 36829 on energy bills rebate, what progress the Government has made in identifying a route for the delivery of the Northern Ireland energy bills support scheme; and what the timeframe is for that support being delivered.

Graham Stuart: Households in Northern Ireland will receive a £400 discount on their energy bills through the Northern Ireland Energy Bills Support Scheme (NI EBSS) this winter. This will offer the same level of support as households in Great Britain are receiving under the Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS). The Government is working at pace to deliver a solution which accounts for the Northern Ireland market and to provide the support as soon as possible.

Fuel Oil: Prices

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant of the Answer on 13 October 2022 to Question 53449 on Fuel Oil, what was the rate of growth in heating costs for off grid households since last autumn in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the United Kingdom.

Graham Stuart: The annual cost of heating a typical household with heating oil rose by £903 in Great Britain (from £615 to £1,518) and £1,080 in Northern Ireland (from £820 to £1,900) from September 2021 to September 2022. This was an increase of 147% in Great Britain and 132% in Northern Ireland. A payment of £100 will effectively limit the increase in heating costs to 130% for a typical household, in line with the benefit offered by the Energy Price Guarantee. A typical household is based on Government analysis of demand which takes into account the characteristics of the UK housing stock.

Employment: Menopause

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a legal requirement for employers with 250 or more employees to have a workplace Menopause Policy to protect and support people experiencing menopause.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government considers the best approach is to engage with employers to promote best practice and to support them to implement approaches that work for their own individual workplace. Through the Business Champion for Older Workers, and with external partners, Government is seeking to ensure that employers are aware of how best to support their staff experiencing menopause.

Care Homes and Hospitals: Power Failures

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of hospitals have Protected Site status under the Electricity Emergency Supply Code; and whether (a) hospices, (b) care homes and (c) other critical sites are included on the Protected Site List.

Graham Stuart: The Protected Sites List (PSL) ensures that during an electricity supply emergency, critical sites remain supplied with electricity. No assessment has been made by BEIS regarding the proportion of hospitals, hospices or care homes in Great Britain which have protected site status. These are the responsibility of the Department of Health & Social Care.

Energy: Meters

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2022 to Question 72508 on Energy: Meters, whether the Energy Price Guarantee scheme: privacy notice published on 1 October 2022 is compatible with the strict Data Access and Privacy Framework referenced in his answer.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) scheme complements the Data Access and Privacy Framework (DAPF) for smart metering. The Government will continue to work with energy suppliers and Ofgem to ensure compliance with the DAPF.

Iron and Steel

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the resilience of steel production in the UK.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK steel industry not only underpins a range of domestic industries; it forms the core of some local communities and economies. The Government remains committed to a UK steel industry and a decarbonised future, supporting local economic growth and our levelling-up agenda. Global economic conditions continue to be challenging for the steel industry and the Government is working with the sector, the unions and devolved regions to support its transition to a competitive, sustainable, and low carbon future.

Parental Leave

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2022 to Question 63130 on Parental Leave, what metrics his Department used as (a) the numerator and (b) the denominator to determine whether the level of use of the Shared Parental Leave scheme by parents is within the 2 per cent to 8 per cent range.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2022 to Question 63131 on Conditions of Employment: Parents, when the research took place for the (a) Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey, (b) qualitative study of parents who have taken Shared Parental Leave and (c) other surveys of employers and parents.

Kevin Hollinrake: The 2013 Impact Assessment for Shared Parental Leave (SPL) estimated that take-up would be between 2-8 per cent based on Labour Force Survey analysis that 267,000 employee fathers/partners would be eligible. HMRC data on the number of individuals in receipt of Shared Parental Pay provides a broad indication of SPL take-up. The SPL evaluation will also include an up-to-date estimate of eligibility and take-up based on survey data. The evaluation will be published in due course. The fieldwork for the Maternity and Paternity Rights survey took place between Mar-Nov 2019, between Aug 2019 and Feb 2020 for the qualitative study of parents and between Sep 2018 and Feb 2019 for the Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey.

Bulb Energy: Takeovers

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what financial support the Government is providing to support Octopus Energy in its takeover of Bulb Energy.

Graham Stuart: The terms of the agreement are commercially sensitive and will not be published.

Bulb Energy: Octopus Energy

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much Octopus Energy is paying the Government to take over Bulb Energy.

Graham Stuart: The terms of the agreement are commercially sensitive and will not be published.

Bulb Energy: Insolvency

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether former customers of Bulb will face future charges to their energy bills as and when Octopus Energy is required to repay financial support provided to it by the Government for the transition of customers from Bulb.

Graham Stuart: The special administrators of Bulb will remain in place until the repayable funding has been received from Octopus. The Government has the option to recoup other costs through the shortfall recovery mechanism which would see a levy charged on energy suppliers

Bulb Energy: Insolvency

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will publish details of Ofgem’s assessment of the transfer of Bulb’s customers to Octopus.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem is an independent regulator and publication of their assessments is a matter for them.

Bulb Energy: Insolvency

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Competition and Markets Authority will be carrying out an assessment of market competition following the transfer of 1.5 million customers from Bulb to Octopus Energy, announced by his Department on 29 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is an independent non-ministerial department and determines any investigations it undertakes.

Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings his Department had with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers between 1 April and 31 October.

Kevin Hollinrake: Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. The latest published data covers April to June 2022, further data will be published in due course. Details of meetings held by civil servants are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Generators and Heating: Ukraine

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which Department is coordinating the provision of generators and heating systems to Ukraine.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) generators and (b) heating systems have been provided to Ukraine via (i) coordination or (ii) funding from the Government in this year.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) generators and (b) heating systems will be provided to Ukraine via (i) coordination or (ii) funding from the Government in the next two months.

Graham Stuart: In March 2022, BEIS set-up a Ukraine Electricity Network Support Taskforce, involving distribution network operators and the Energy Networks Association. Through this Taskforce, BEIS has funded the procurement of more than 850 mobile generators for Ukraine, worth £6.1 million. This supports the UK’s overall humanitarian response, led by FCDO. BEIS regularly engages with Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy to discuss priority needs.

Energy Bill Relief Scheme

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to regulation 6 of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme Pass-through Requirement (Heat Suppliers) (England and Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2022, how an end user may challenge an intermediary if they believe that the pass-through amount being provided is not just and reasonable.

Graham Stuart: If an end user (a heat network consumer) cannot reach direct resolution with the intermediary (the heat supplier), they can raise a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman. The Regulations also allow heat network consumers to pursue recovery of the benefits of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme as a debt through civil proceedings. More information can be found in guidance accompanying the Regulations: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-provided-to-intermediaries/guidance-on-the-energy-bill-relief-scheme-pass-through-requirements-for-heat-networks.

Energy: Prices

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department records the number of people who are on the Priority Services Register.

Graham Stuart: The Government does not record this data however Ofgem, as the regulator, does. According to Ofgem’s statistics, as of 31st December 2021, 7,352,529 and 6,266,228 consumers were on the Priority Services Register for electricity and gas respectively. Ofgem requires all suppliers to provide a Priority Services Register for vulnerable consumers with additional, non-financial needs. Those on a Priority Service Register are offered a range of services relating to safety, access, and communication free of charge.

Energy: Prices

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will impose a moratorium on people on the Priority Services Register being put on energy pre-payment meters.

Graham Stuart: Prepayment meters enable customers to budget and can help reduce the risk of entering, or exacerbating, debt. When installing a prepayment meter, suppliers must consider whether this is appropriate for the specific customer, including whether this is safe and practical. Ofgem also requires suppliers to maintain a Priority Services Register for vulnerable consumers with additional, non-financial needs. Those on a Priority Service Register are offered a range of free services relating to safety, access, and communication. Whether a consumer is on the Priority Services Register is not necessarily relevant to whether a prepayment meter is appropriate for a specific customer.

Energy: Prices

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people on the Priority Services Register are on energy pre-payment meters.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem collects data separately on the number of individuals on the priority service register (PSR) and the number on pre-payment meters. As of the 31st December 2021, 7,352,529 and 6,266,228 of consumers were on the PSR for electricity and gas respectively. In Q2 2022, 4,171,948 and 3,247,403 were on a pre-payment meter for gas and electricity respectively.

Energy: Prices

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to reapply green levies to fuel bills following the end of the Energy Price Guarantee in April.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Price Guarantee includes the temporary suspension of green levies. A Treasury-led review of the scheme will design a new approach to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023. Outcomes of the review will be announced in due course.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he will publish the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount Core Group 2.

Graham Stuart: The Government published a draft Eligibility Statement for the Warm Home Discount scheme for England and Wales over the summer, available at https://www.gov.uk/‌government/consultations/warm-home-discount-england-and-wales-draft-eligibility-statement. The Government has considered the responses to the draft and the final Eligibility Statement has now been published, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/warm-home-discount-eligibility-statement-england-and-wales.

Energy Bills Rebate

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the take up rate amongst pre-payment meter customers of vouchers for the £400 rebate; what plans he has to support those who are digitally excluded; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: Suppliers are reporting to the Department on scheme delivery, including the redemption of prepayment meter vouchers. These figures will be published in due course. Prepayment meter customers in England, Scotland and Wales should have already received their first Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) discount voucher. These have been sent by SMS text, email or post. Suppliers are obliged to take all reasonable steps to ensure the EBSS voucher is provided and redeemed, including by making a minimum of three attempts by at least two different methods to contact customers who have not redeemed their payment to encourage them to take action.

Energy Bills Rebate

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to ensure those who have prepayment meters are aware of the process to retrieve their Energy Bill Support Scheme voucher.

Graham Stuart: Suppliers should take action to encourage all traditional pre-payment customers to redeem their EBSS payment during the scheme month. Replacement credit can be issued up until the scheme closing date of 30 June 2023. Suppliers have an obligation, and must be able to evidence, that they have attempted to make a minimum of three attempts by at least two different methods to contact customers who have not redeemed their payment– including at least one month before the expiry of the unredeemed EBSS payment. If a customer requests an expired voucher be reissued, suppliers should comply with the request.

Energy Bills Rebate: Publicity

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to raise awareness of the Energy Bill Support Scheme; and how households can access this credit.

Graham Stuart: BEIS continues to deliver a broad range of communications via suppliers, through Government channels such as the Help For Households site and Gov.uk, social media, and via a range of charities and consumer groups. There has also been a media campaign with messaging replicated widely. The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) is delivering a £400 non-repayable Government discount in instalments over six months from October to March, to help 29 million households with energy bills over the winter. The first payment reached consumers in October. There is no need to apply for the discount under the Energy Support Scheme GB.

Energy: Ogmore

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to provide (a) financial and (b) other support to people running community energy schemes in Ogmore constituency in the last five years.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to introduce financial incentives to encourage community energy schemes during the cost of living crisis; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: Community energy schemes within Wales have access to support from the Welsh Government. Ofgem supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme. The Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals through UK-wide growth funding schemes. The Government also encourages community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes. Given the level of support already available, the Government has no plans to take further steps to introduce financial incentives for community energy at this time.

Generators: Carbon Emissions

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish his recent correspondence with industry leaders on the use of low-carbon generators.

Graham Stuart: The Government engages with industry leaders on a range of issues, including energy security and net zero. It is not Government policy to publish Ministerial correspondence.

Energy Bills Rebate: Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Energy Bills Support Scheme vouchers issued to traditional prepayment meter customers; and how many have so far been redeemed in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency.

Graham Stuart: Suppliers are reporting to the Department on scheme delivery, including the redemption of prepayment meter vouchers. These figures will be published in due course.

Climate Change Convention: Egypt

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister about the Prime Minister's potential attendance at COP27.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Prime Minister and I have all confirmed our attendance at COP27 in Egypt to deliver on Glasgow’s COP26 legacy of building a secure and sustainable future.

Fuel Oil: Government Assistance

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the evidential basis was for his Department's decision to set the level of support for people who use heating oil at £100.

Graham Stuart: The £100 payment has been calculated to ensure that a typical customer using heating oil does not face a higher rate of growth in their heating costs since last winter, in comparison to those using mains gas who are supported by the Energy Price Guarantee. More details on the exact calculation can be found on pages 28-29 of the Government’s published Impact Assessment:https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0159/AnnexB.pdf.

Scottish Limited Partnerships: Ownership

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many qualifying Scottish Limited partnerships have not registered a person of significant control in each year since the requirement to do so came into force.

Kevin Hollinrake: Further to the answer given to the Hon. Member on this topic on 3rd March 2022 to Question 131219, as of 31 October 2022, Companies House considers 8,204 of the Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active. Of these, 201 had no PSC information. This compares to 203 SLPs as of 31 January 2022, 213 SLPs in October 2021, 828 in January 2021, 948 in January 2020, 2,019 in January 2019 and 7,078 in January 2018 that had failed to register PSC information.

Companies: Fines

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy what was the total value of financial penalties imposed on (a) company directors and (b) other company officers for offences related to registration requirements for People with Significant Control under 21A of the Companies Act 2006, as amended, in each year since 2016.

Kevin Hollinrake: The total value of financial penalties imposed on (a) company directors for an offence related to the registration requirements for People with Significant Control under Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006 for each year since 2016 is:2016 is nil2017 is nil2018 (from 1 March 2018) is £5,270.002019 is £42,421.002020 is £8,960.002021 is £51,978.002022 (up to 30th September) is £33,585.00 The total value of financial penalties imposed on (b) other company officers is nil.

Companies: Fines

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many financial penalties were imposed on (a) company directors and (b) other company officers for an offence related to registration requirements for People with Significant Control under 21A of the Companies Act 2006, as amended, in each year since 2016.

Kevin Hollinrake: The number of financial penalties imposed on (a) company directors for an offence related to the registration requirements for People with Significant Control under Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006 for each year since 2016 is:2016 is nil2017 is nil2018 (from 1st March 2018) is 192019 is 1342020 is 282021 is 952022 (up to 30th September 2022) is 71 The number of financial penalties imposed on (b) other company officers is nil.

Housing: Sefton Central

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, How many homes in Sefton Central constituency have had solar power panels installed as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to decarbonising heating by 2050 and has set an aim to phase out the sale of new and replacement gas boilers by 2035. As well as introducing a package of measures including the £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme and £60m in heat pump innovation to increase deployment of heat pumps, the Government will be expanding heat networks through the Green Heat Networks Fund as well as zoning and assessing the feasibility, costs and benefits of using hydrogen for heating to inform a decision to be taken on the role of hydrogen for heating in 2026.

Housing: Sefton Central

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Sefton Central constituency have had under floor insulation installed as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), around 400 under floor insulation measures have been installed in Sefton Central constituency. Data for ECO covers the start of the scheme in January 2013 to March 2022.

Housing: Sefton Central

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Sefton Central constituency with lofts had had loft insulation installed as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG)Government schemes, around 900 lofts have been insulated in Sefton Central constituency. Data for ECO covers the start of the scheme in January 2013 to March 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover the start of the schemes in October/November 2020 to August 2022.

Housing: Sefton Central

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Sefton Central constituency have had heat pumps installed as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that as of 31 October 2022, thirty-three heat pump installations were registered in the Sefton Central constituency. The database does not include all heat pump installations, for example, those installed without Government funding support, such as in new buildings, which are not typically recorded in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database.

Housing: Sefton Central

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Sefton Central constituency with cavity walls have been insulated as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/household-energy-efficiency-national-statistics) and Green Homes Grant (GHG) (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-home-grant-statistics) Government schemes, around 1,600 cavity walls have been insulated in Sefton Central constituency. Data for ECO covers the start of the scheme in January 2013 to March 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover the start of the schemes in October/November 2021 to August 2022.

Flexible working: Parents

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to promote flexible and secure work for parental workers.

Kevin Hollinrake: The 2019 Conservative Party manifesto pledged changes to enhance workers’ rights and support people to stay in work. The government is currently supporting five private members bills which will deliver on these commitments, three of which will particularly promote flexible and secure work for working parents. The Neonatal (Leave and Pay) Bill, Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill and Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill will protect and support new parents, as well as provide all employees with better access to flexible working.

Energy Bills Rebate

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will take steps to ensure that people who use prepayment meters and do not redeem their Energy Support Scheme vouchers before their expiration date are provided with financial support.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will require energy suppliers to ensure that Energy Support Scheme vouchers for traditional pre-payment meter users can be redeemed beyond their current expiration date.

Graham Stuart: Suppliers should take action to encourage all traditional pre-payment customers to redeem their EBSS payment during the scheme month. Replacement credit can be issued up until the scheme closing date of 30 June 2023. Suppliers have an obligation, and must be able to evidence, that they have attempted to make a minimum of three attempts by at least two different methods to contact customers who have not redeemed their payment – Including at least one month before the expiry of the unredeemed EBSS payment. If a customer requests an expired voucher be reissued, suppliers should comply with the request.

Wind Power: Planning

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it remains the Government's policy to bring onshore wind planning policy in line with other infrastructure to allow it to be more easily deployed in England as set out in the Growth Plan 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Government seeks to respond to communities with concerns about the impact of wind turbines in England while also delivering cheaper, cleaner, more secure power including onshore wind. The Government will consider all options for increasing deployment in ways that local communities will support.

Power Failures

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to assist (a) vulnerable, (b) disabled and (c) elderly people in the event of energy blackouts in winter 2022.

Graham Stuart: The UK has a secure and diverse energy system. The Government is confident in its plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios this winter. Electricity network operators are obliged to maintain a Priority Services Register to ensure support is given to the most vulnerable customers during power disruptions, including those who are disabled or elderly

Climate Change: Job Creation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps his Department has taken to provide funding for jobs that will help to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Graham Stuart: There are already around 430,000 jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country, with turnover estimated at £41.2 billion in 2020. The Government estimates that in April 2022, nearly 68,000 green jobs across the UK economy had been supported, were currently supported, or had been secured for the future by Government policies since the Ten Point Plan was launched in November 2020. The Green Jobs Delivery Group is the central forum through which Ministers, industry, businesses and other key stakeholders are working together to drive forward action on our green jobs and skills commitments.

Energy Bills Rebate: Rented Housing

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what date his Department will require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support onto tenants as set out in the provisions in the Energy Prices Act.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Prices Act 2022 contains a provision requiring intermediaries to pass on energy price support to end users. Further detail will be set out in regulations and guidance in due course, however, the requirement will be retrospective which means landlords will be required to pass on payments from October onwards.

Fuel Poverty

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the number of residents failing to pay (a) gas and (b) electricity bills as a result of increases in the cost of living in (i) the UK, (ii) Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority and (iii) Cynon Valley constituency.

Graham Stuart: Information about customer accounts is held by suppliers, however, Ofgem’s licence conditions include an Ability to Pay Principle, which obligates suppliers to provide appropriate support for those struggling to pay their bills by setting up appropriate repayment plans based on a customer’s ability to pay, and by directing the customer to further support services. The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £700 this winter. This is on top of the £400 discount off the energy bills of all households and additional cost of living support being provided to vulnerable households.

Energy: Meters

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with energy companies on prioritising customers with an energy pre-payment metres for retrofitting works.

Graham Stuart: Pre-payment meter customers are eligible under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4), however meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee assistance under the ECO4 scheme. The decision to offer any assistance lies solely with ECO-obligated energy suppliers and the installers to whom they sub-contract.Under ECO Flex, energy suppliers can meet up to half of their ECO targets by delivering to households identified by local authorities or themselves. Customers in energy debt, and therefore, those on pre-payment meters, may be prioritised by suppliers under this element of ECO.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the number of people who were previously eligible for the Warm Home Discount Scheme that are no longer eligible following changes in eligibility criteria in the 2022-23 financial year.

Graham Stuart: The Government published an impact assessment for expanding and reforming the scheme in England and Wales which compared the number of rebates under the assessed options. The Government does not hold data on who received a rebate under the Broader Group in previous scheme years and therefore has not conducted an assessment of the number of people who were previously eligible, who will no longer be eligible in this scheme year. There will be an online eligibility checker on gov.uk to help people understand if they may be eligible, and the Government is sharing information on the new scheme with energy suppliers and charities.

District Heating

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including residents in communal heat networks within the energy price cap.

Graham Stuart: The Government has announced that it will effectively cap the price of heat sold by heat networks through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme this winter by reducing the commercial prices of energy used by networks and introducing Regulations requiring networks to pass on the benefit of the EBRS to end consumers.

Energy: Tenants

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to extend the protection of the energy price cap to housing tenants reliant on communal boilers such as older persons housing schemes that are classified as being a commercial supply.

Graham Stuart: The Government has announced that it will effectively cap the price of heat sold by heat networks through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme this winter by reducing the commercial prices of energy used by networks and introducing Regulations requiring networks to pass on the benefit of the EBRS to end consumers.

Energy: Tenants

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to apply the energy price cap to residential blocks of flats being classified as non-domestic buildings because they use a communal boiler.

Graham Stuart: The Government has announced that it will effectively cap the price of heat sold by heat networks through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme this winter by reducing the commercial prices of energy used by networks and introducing Regulations requiring networks to pass on the benefit of the EBRS to end consumers.

District Heating: Housing

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to prevent energy companies classifying houses with a communal heat network as a commercial supply when it is for residential use.

Graham Stuart: The Government has announced that it will effectively cap the price of heat sold by heat networks through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme this winter by reducing the commercial prices of energy used by networks and introducing Regulations requiring networks to pass on the benefit of the EBRS to end consumers.

Northern Ireland Office

Schools: Northern Ireland

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Answer of 30 March 2022 to Question 146691 on Schools: Northern Ireland, what options have been identified for the delivery of the Connected Classrooms programme.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government continues to deliver on the commitments we made in Annex A of New Decade, New Approach to support a diverse, prosperous Northern Ireland. We are exploring delivery options for the Connected Classrooms programme including delivery via UK Government departments or agencies, via the Northern Ireland Executive departments and through the charity and third sectors.

Domestic Visits: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many notifications of upcoming visits to Northern Ireland by representatives of other governments have been received by the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last three years; and how many of those notifications have related to visits by the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Irish Republic.

Mr Steve Baker: The Department does not keep a record of the number of notifications of visits to Northern Ireland by representatives from other Governments.

Northern Ireland Office: Correspondence and Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Mr Steve Baker: The effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions and correspondence is of great importance to the Northern Ireland Office and its Ministers. Officials work at pace to draft, clear and issue responses to PQs and correspondence from MPs. Between the period 1 May to 31 July 2022, the Northern Ireland Office answered 100% of PQs on time and an average of 78% of all correspondence to MPs on time.

Department of Health and Social Care

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on research and decision making which is assessing left ventricular assist devices as a long-term therapy for patients ineligible for transplantation.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Community Diagnostic Centres: Staff

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that new community diagnostic centres do not move diagnostic healthcare professionals from acute hospital sites.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

General Practitioners: Greater London

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of GPs in the North East London Integrated Care System catchment area; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of retention initiatives.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Darlington

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve access to NHS dental services in Darlington constituency.

Neil O'Brien: In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including in Darlington.The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.

Skin Cancer: Luton North

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the level of diagnoses of cases of melanoma in Luton North constituency.

Helen Whately: We are committed to improving early diagnosis for all cancers, including in Luton, with the diagnoses of melanoma at stage 1 and 2 currently at 89.1%. A recent National Health Service ‘Help us help you’ campaigns addresses the barriers to earlier presentation for all cancer types and the underlying challenges to earlier diagnosis. This campaign was active during March and June 2022 and saw 1600% increases in the numbers of visits to the NHS.UK’s cancer symptoms information.

Members: Correspondence

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to send a ministerial reply in response to the letter dated 28 June 2022 from the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion to the Minister for Public Health on a letter from a constituent about the Healthy Child Programme.

Neil O'Brien: We apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member. A reply will be sent as soon as possible.

Members: Correspondence

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 19 August 2022 from the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys on behalf of a constituent on the MyGP app.

Neil O'Brien: We apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member. A reply will be sent as soon as possible.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2022 to Question 16826 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, for what reason the application for a vaccine damage payment made in November 2021 with reference VAD7859 has not been concluded; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria apply in establishing whether a person who has suffered multi-system inflammatory syndrome as a result of a Covid-19 vaccine meets the 60 per cent threshold to qualify for a payment under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Digital Technology

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with officials in NHS England on the plans to produce a digital version of the NHS red book set out in the NHS Long Term Plan published in January 2019.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Digital Technology

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of plans to produce a digital version of the red book at outlined NHS Long Term Plan.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates: Regulation

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2022 to Question 49105 on Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates: Regulation, whether he plans to publish the public consultation on the draft legislation aimed at enabling the General Medical Council to regulate physician associates and anaesthesia associates by the end of 2022.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the publication of his Department’s long-term transformation plan for the Breast Screening Programme.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is (a) commissioning or (b) developing a policy statement for Mitral valve replacement.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Breast Cancer: North Tyneside

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department is taking to help increase the uptake of breast cancer screening in North Tyneside constituency.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the NHS Long-term Plan aim to increase access to echocardiography in primary care to help improve the investigation of patients with breathlessness.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Tuberculosis: Health Services

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the NHS and (b) expert networks on the TB strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will publish his Department’s data for spending over £500 using an electronic purchasing card solution for the month of August 2021.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Email

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what occasions Ministers in his Department have received security briefings on using their personal email addresses for ministerial work since taking up post in the last 12 months.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the processes on (a) NHS England specialised services and (b) the development of new commissioning policies are transparent and inclusive of relevant stakeholders.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Email

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what security guidance his Department's ministerial team have received on using their personal email addresses for ministerial work.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Email

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to outline what security guidance he has received on the use of his personal email addresses for ministerial work.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Health Services

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the 10-Year Cancer Plan will be published.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Email

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Ministers in his Department have sent confidential information to and from their personal email addresses in the last five years.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Endometriosis

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) gynaecology specialist nurses with expertise in endometriosis and (b) gynaecologists with expertise in (i) diagnosing and managing endometriosis and (ii) training and skills in laparoscopic surgery were working in the NHS as of 2 November 2022.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Email

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has sent confidential Departmental information to and from his personal email addresses since his appointment.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Homeopathy: Expenditure

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total amount spent on homeopathy by NHS trusts was in the most recent financial year for which data is held.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Email

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he forwarded any official documents from his government emails to his personal email address from 5 July 2022 to 6 September 2022.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dentistry: Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to crease more dental schools in the UK.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to expand existing dental schools in the UK.

Neil O'Brien: There are no current plans to do so. The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention. The plan is due for completion by the end of 2022 and its conclusions will be available in due course.Health Education England’s three-year Advancing Dental Care Review of education and training is being implemented through its Dental Education Reform Programme to improve recruitment and retention in the dental workforce.

Department of Health and Social Care: Email

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Ministers in his Department forwarded official documents from their Government emails to their personal email addresses from 24 July 2019 to 25 October 2022.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Construction

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to announce the final eight trusts to be selected for the new hospital programme.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

General Practitioners

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many fully qualified full time equivalent GPs there were in England in each year since 2015.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Epilepsy: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that trusts are able to provide sufficient funding for patients with epilepsy.

Helen Whately: Once diagnosed and with a management strategy in place, the majority of people with epilepsy can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care commissioned by local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to ICBs to support the commissioning of services for the local population. This process is independent of the Government and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.

Social Services

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made on the potential merit of local authorities providing adult social care services based on an in-house, insourced service model.

Helen Whately: Local authorities are responsible for the commissioning of care and support services to meet the needs of the local population. The Health and Care Act 2022 includes provisions for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess the performance of local authorities' of delivery adult social care duties, as set out under the Care Act 2014. The CQC has been working with local government and the care sector to develop a framework for these assessments, which includes consideration of how local authorities undertake commissioning and market shaping duties.

Care Workers: Resignations

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) reinstate and (b) compensate the care staff who left their jobs due to the legal requirement for those staff to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Helen Whately: Between 11 November 2021 and 15 March 2022, care homes were legally required to only deploy vaccinated or exempt staff. The matter of reinstating or compensating care staff who have been dismissed or resigned because of the regulations is a matter for individual employers.

Liver Diseases: Death

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of preventable deaths due to liver disease on regional variation in healthy life expectancy.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made.

Ophthalmic Services

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with the devolved Administrations to improve eye health care across the UK.

Neil O'Brien: The provision of eye care services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. In England, free eye tests and optical vouchers are provided to contribute towards the cost of glasses, with over 12 million National Health Service sight tests provided in 2021/22. NHS England has recently appointed a National Clinical Director for eye care to oversee the post pandemic recovery and long term transformation of optical services.We are supporting research into diagnosis, prevention and treatment of eye conditions, including a £20 million award to the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre for vision research. Through the NIHR, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland work on a range of topics and the devolved administrations co-fund several research programmes.

HIV Infection: West Ham

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she will take to help improve the (a) quality of life and (b) life expectancy of people diagnosed with HIV and resident in West Ham constituency; and what steps she is taking to help target her Department’s response to affected communities.

Helen Whately: Local government is responsible for commissioning local HIV prevention activities, including those in Newham, which is funded through the Public Health Grant.In December 2021, we published ‘Towards Zero: the HIV Action Plan for England - 2022 to 2025’ which sets out actions at a national, regional and local level to ensure the most affected communities are targeted.

Patients: Abuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to require the Care Quality Commission to take further steps to prevent the (a) physical and (b) psychological abuse of people in the health and care system.

Helen Whately: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is improving how services are regulated to identify where the culture of a service is likely to lead to such abuse.The CQC is reviewing its work on ‘Out of Sight, Who Cares?’ which looked at the use of restraint, seclusion and segregation in care services for people with a mental health condition and learning disabilities and implementing this learning across other service types.

Dental Services: North Tyneside

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve access to NHS dental services in North Tyneside constituency.

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dental services in North Tyneside constituency.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England asked dental practices to return to full delivery of contracted activity from July 2022, including in North Tyneside. In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including in North Tyneside.The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.

Health: Disadvantaged

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she will take to ensure that the Public Health Grant enables Directors of Public Health to address the health disparities in their locations.

Neil O'Brien: The Public Health Grant’s distribution is heavily weighted towards areas facing the greatest population health challenges. Local authorities are also required to have regard to the need to reduce health inequalities between the people in their areas when commissioning public health services.All local authorities received an increase to their public health grant last year and a 2.8% increase this year, and the 2021 Spending Review confirmed the Public Health Grant will continue to increase over the spending review period.We will announce the 2023/24 Public Health Grant allocations to local authorities in due course.

Monkeypox: Vaccination

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doses of monkeypox vaccine have been received by NHS England since 1 May 2022.

Neil O'Brien: Since 1 May 2022, the UK Health Security Agency has procured all available stock of the smallpox vaccines Imvanex and JYNNEOS. This amounts to more than 150,000 doses, all doses have now been delivered to the United Kingdom.Approximately just under 70,000 doses have been made available to the National Health Service in England for the pre-exposure programme for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, for contacts of cases and for some healthcare workers.

Dental Services: Integrated Care Systems

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help integrated care systems develop Centres for Dental Development.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England currently commissions many primary care services, including dentistry. Since 1 July 2022, nine integrated care board (ICBs) have delegated responsibility for the commissioning of one or more pharmaceutical services, general ophthalmic services and dental services. NHS England plans to delegate commissioning responsibility to the remaining ICBs for all dental services from 1 April 2023. The Department encourages integrated care systems to commission services to meet the dental care needs of the local population, which could include Centres for Dental Development where appropriate.

Care Homes

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to ensure adequate provision of care home places in England.

Helen Whately: Local authorities are responsible for commissioning care and support services. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to shape local markets to ensure a diverse range of high quality, sustainable, person-centred care and support services are provided, which includes adequate provision of care home places.

Hospitals: Generators

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the likelihood of required widespread use of back-up diesel generators to support the delivery of vital health services during winter 2022.

Neil O'Brien: While we do not expect any disruption, the Department continues to work with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the assessment of the likelihood of powers outages. All National Health Service organisations are required to have business continuity plans in place to support the continued safe provision of services to patients in a number of different scenarios, including loss of power. These plans seek to ensure that critical services to patients in all settings can be delivered with as minimal disruption as possible. Where available, sites can make use of back-up generators if required.

Social Services: Finance

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will increase the amount allocated to Adult Social Care in line with inflation.

Helen Whately: In 2022/23, we have made an additional £3.7 billion available for councils for 2022/23, including £1 billion for social care.The Government has announced support for all businesses, charities and public sector organisations with energy costs this winter, equivalent to the domestic price cap of £2,500 provided to businesses for the next six months.  The level of funding for social care is kept under continuous review.

Huntington's Disease: Health Services

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will ask NICE to develop specific national guidelines on Huntington’s disease to help ensure patients with that disease have a coordinated care pathway.

Helen Whately: There are no current plans for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop a guideline on Huntington’s disease. NHS England is developing a neuropsychiatry service specification which when finalised, will outline the multi-disciplinary approach to caring for patients with complex neurological conditions, including Huntington’s disease, who require specialised assessment and mental health support.

Coronavirus and Influenza: Disease Control

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to deal with rising (a) flu and (b) covid-19 cases; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: We have expanded the flu vaccination programme to include all adults aged 50 to 64 years old and will offer the vaccine to secondary school children in Years 7, 8, and 9. Since the start of the programme on 1 September, the National Health Service has prioritised vaccinating the most vulnerable, including pre-school and primary school children, those aged 65 years old and over and those in clinical risk groups. We are targeting marketing and communications to those at greatest clinical risk and/or are more likely to be hesitant. NHS England has recommissioned a national call and recall service for the 2022/23 season to issue invitations to targeted groups. The success of the COVID-19 vaccination and booster programme and the availability of antivirals has ensured a much lower risk of severe illness or hospitalisation.We continue to monitor prevalence of COVID-19 and other related factors, such as hospitalisations and deaths. ‘COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19’ published in February 2022, set out how we will treat COVID-19 in the same way as other respiratory viruses such as flu. The Government will continue to keep the response to COVID-19 under review to ensure it remains effective and proportionate.

Huntington's Disease: Research

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much Government funding is being spent on research to help tackle the symptoms of Huntington’s disease.

Helen Whately: The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2020/21, the Government’s expenditure on dementia and neurodegeneration research, including Huntington’s disease, was £77 million.In the last five years, the NIHR directly funded two studies into Huntington’s disease with a total award value of £316,267. Additionally, the NIHR has supported the delivery of over 35 studies relating to Huntington’s disease via the Clinical Research Network infrastructure, including 12 specifically focusing on symptom management.

Care Homes: Slough

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2022 to Question 67180 on Care Homes: Slough, what proportion of care homes in Slough constituency are rated as inadequate.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2022 to Question 67180 on Care Homes: Slough, what proportion of care homes in Slough constituency are rated as requiring improvement.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2022 to Question 67180 on Care Homes: Slough, what recent steps she has taken to improve the quality of care in care homes in Slough constituency.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2022 to Question 67180 on Care Homes: Slough, what assessment she has made of the quality of care homes in the Slough constituency compared to those elsewhere in England.

Helen Whately: In the Slough constituency, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated 20% of care homes as requiring improvement and none as inadequate. This compares to 16.9% of care homes in England rated as requiring improvement and 1.6% rated as inadequate.The CQC has a range of enforcement powers to ensure that providers improve the quality of care delivered. These include issuing requirement notices on what improvements the care provider must make and when; placing a provider in special measures, where the CQC supervise the quality of care while working with other organisations to undertake improvements within set timescales; and hold the care provider to account by issuing fines or prosecuting cases where people are harmed or placed in danger of harm.

Cancer: Health Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans she has to improve outcomes for people diagnosed with a less survivable cancer in Slough constituency.

Helen Whately: Surrey and Sussex Cancer Alliance is working with the Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System to improve the outcomes for all patients diagnosed with cancer in the Slough area. It is raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer, with a focus on pancreatic cancer and supporting an increased uptake of cancer screening programmes. This now includes the Targeted Lung Health Check programme, which is soon to be deployed in Slough.

Dental Services: West Yorkshire

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in (a) Morley and Outwood constituency and (b) West Yorkshire.

Neil O'Brien: In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including in West Yorkshire.The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the compatibility of the description on the NHS website of covid-19 vaccines being safe with the guidance on product descriptions set out by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in The Blue Guide, Advertising and Promotion of Medicines in the UK, published in November 2020.

Neil O'Brien: All vaccines deployed in the United Kingdom are authorised for use once robust standards of effectiveness, safety and quality determined by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency have been met.

Dementia: Health Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish a regional breakdown of the spending allocation for the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission.

Helen Whately: Spending plans for the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission are currently in development.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to improve pandemic preparedness.

Neil O'Brien: The Department continues to plan and prepare for a range of pandemic and emerging infectious disease scenarios, including those caused by respiratory, contact and vector-borne pathogens, informed by lessons learned from exercises and incidents, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons from the independent inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic will also be applied to future preparedness planning and response. The Centre for Pandemic Preparedness has been established within the UK Health Security Agency as a hub for all aspects of pandemic preparedness.

Cancer: Health Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her proposed Cancer Plan will aim to improve outcomes for people with a less survivable cancer; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Whately: A successful call for evidence for a new cancer plan held earlier this year saw 5,000 responses from a number of sources. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Care Homes and Hospitals: Visits

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the debate on Contact in Care Settings on 27 October 2022 col 494, when he expects the work commissioned on steps to guarantee the right to maintain contact in care settings to conclude.

Helen Whately: The Government’s guidance states that every resident should be able to have at least one visitor in all circumstances. We are reviewing a range of options to avoid instances where residents are unable to receive visitors.

Dementia: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department expects to publish further information regarding the research and development spending allocation for the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission.

Helen Whately: Expenditure plans for the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission are currently in development and further information will be available in due course.

Diabetes: Sunderland Central

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with diabetes in Sunderland Central constituency in each of the last five years.

Helen Whately: The following table shows the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Sunderland Central constituency in each year from 2016 to 2020, by diabetes type.Year of diagnosisType 1Type 2 and other201615330201725410201815410201915520202020350 Source: National Diabetes AuditNotes:A person may have more than one diabetes diagnosis within the National Diabetes Audit. In this case, an algorithm is used to derive the best diagnosis date and diabetes type for each person. This is used in the analysis.Disclosure control has been applied to all figures, as per the National Diabetes Audit publication – all numbers are rounded to the nearest 5, unless the number is 1 to 7, in which case it is rounded to ‘5’.Diabetes type is reported as ‘type 1’ and ‘type 2 and other’ within the National Diabetes Audit. ‘Type 1’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 1 diabetes in the National Diabetes Audit. ‘Type 2 and other’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 2 diabetes, Maturity-onset Diabetes of the Young, other or non-specified diabetes in the National Diabetes Audit.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Coronavirus

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications have been made to the vaccine damage payments scheme in respect of covid-19 vaccines as of 27 October 2022; and how many and what proportion of those applications have been (a) successful, (b) rejected and (c) unresolved for more than six months.

Helen Whately: As of 27 October, the NHS Business Services Authority has received 2,893 claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) relating to COVID-19. Following medical assessment, 27 or 0.9% of these claims have been awarded and 217 or 7.5% of these claims have been rejected. There are 1,289 or 44.6% of these claims which have been unresolved for more than six months.The Department continues to work with the NHS Business Services Authority to increase the administrative and medical assessment capacity within the VDPS to progress claims more rapidly. The NHS Business Services Authority has also implemented Subject Access Requests to provide robust timeframes to encourage the timely return of medical records required to carry out medical assessments.

Social Services: Staff

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to intervene in the agency market of social care recruitment to (a) prevent money going out of the system to recruitment agencies and (b) support with staffing levels in that sector.

Helen Whately: Most care workers are employed by private sector providers who make their own recruitment decisions, independent of central government. It is, therefore, the responsibility of individual providers to make decisions on the use of recruitment agencies to support with capacity.To support the sector with workforce capacity, we are supporting recruitment at home and at abroad - investing £15 million to boost the international recruitment of care workers and launching our domestic National Recruitment Campaign in early November.

Defibrillators: Public Places

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making defibrillators mandatory in all public places.

Helen Whately: We are currently considering ways to improve access to automatic external defibrillators. We encourage organisations to consider purchasing a defibrillator as part of first aid equipment, particularly for locations with high concentrations of people.

HIV Infection: Ilford North

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with HIV in Ilford North in each of the last 5 five years.

Helen Whately: The information is not collected in the format requested.

Health: Disadvantaged

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish to publish the White Paper on health disparities by the end of 2022; and whether that White Paper will include a cross-government strategy.

Neil O'Brien: No decisions have been taken in relation to the health disparities white paper.

Care Homes: Edmonton

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of care homes were rated as good by the Care Quality Commission in Edmonton constituency as of 11 October 2022.

Helen Whately: As of 11 October, 19 care homes (82.6 per cent) were rated good overall by the Care Quality Commission in the Edmonton constituency.

General Practitioners: Fees and Charges

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in what circumstances are General Practices unable to charge a fee for the issuing of letters confirming an individual's health condition.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 23 October 2020 to Question 99764 on General Practitioners: Fees and Charges, if he will list the letters issued to patients by GPs that are listed as exempt from fees by the General Medical Services and Personal Medical Services Regulations.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria is used to determine which letters GPs are unable to charge patients for.

Neil O'Brien: The circumstances in which general practices must not charge for issuing medical certificates confirming an individual’s health condition are set out in Schedule 2 of the National Health Services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015 and Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 2015. The inclusion of a medical certificate in this Schedule is subject to consultation with the British Medical Association’s general practitioners committee.

Pharmacy: Huddersfield

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support local pharmacy services in Huddersfield.

Neil O'Brien: The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 commits £2.592 billion to the sector each year and sets out how community pharmacy will be integrated into the National Health Service, delivering more clinical services and providing treatment and advice for minor illnesses, including in Huddersfield. On 22 September, we announced further services to be provided by community pharmacy in the remainder of the Framework, including a one-off investment of £100 million. We will enable community pharmacists to manage and initiate contraception, provide further support for patients newly prescribed anti-depressants and urgent and emergency care settings will be able to refer patients to a community pharmacist for a minor illness consultation or an urgent medicine supply.

Diabetes: Bradford East

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with diabetes in Bradford East constituency in each of the last five years.

Helen Whately: The following table shows the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Bradford East constituency in each year from 2016 to 2020, by diabetes type.Year of diagnosisType 1Type 2 and other201625740201725595201825685201920770202020570 Source: National Diabetes AuditNotes:A person may have more than one diabetes diagnosis within the National Diabetes Audit. In this case, an algorithm is used to derive the best diagnosis date and diabetes type for each person. This is used in the analysis above.Disclosure control has been applied to all figures, as per the National Diabetes Audit publication – all numbers are rounded to the nearest 5, unless the number is 1 to 7, in which case it is rounded to ‘5’.Diabetes type is reported as ‘type 1’ and ‘type 2 and other’ within the National Diabetes Audit. ‘Type 1’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 1 diabetes in the National Diabetes Audit. ‘Type 2 and other’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 2 diabetes, Maturity-onset Diabetes of the Young, other or non-specified diabetes in the National Diabetes Audit.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library the results of all clinical trials carried out in the UK on the covid-19 booster vaccines currently being used by the NHS in England.

Neil O'Brien: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Research Ethics Committee expectations are that the summary results of United Kingdom research are published within 12 months from the conclusion of the trial. These summaries should be published in the public register where the trial sponsor has registered the clinical trial.Earlier this year, the MHRA conducted a public consultation on proposals to update the legislation governing the regulation of UK clinical trials. This included proposals to embed the transparency expectations of regulators into new legislation. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Parkinson's Disease: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of regional differences in access to multidisciplinary support for Parkinson's care.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of regional differences in access to multidisciplinary support on Parkinson's care.

Helen Whately: No specific assessment has been made.

Brain: Tumours

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will include proxy measure targets for the early diagnosis of brain tumours in the 10-Year Cancer Plan.

Helen Whately: Following a call for evidence held earlier this year to inform a new cancer plan, we received 5,000 responses. Further information will be available in due course.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2022 to Question 18974 on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what progress his Department has made on the Cross-Government Delivery Plan on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Helen Whately: We are engaging with stakeholders to develop a cross-Government delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. We have established a governance structure including a task and finish group and three working groups.

Heart Diseases: Medical Equipment

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of left ventricular assist devices as a long-term therapy for patients ineligible for transplantation.

Helen Whately: NHS England has concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence about the clinical and cost effectiveness of left ventricular assist devices as a permanent solution to heart failure. NHS England has commissioned the National Institute for Health and care Research to undertake a study to consider the evidence of this treatment and expects to consider the position later this year following the outcome.

Dementia: Health Services

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 September to Question 49591 on Dementia: Health Services, how many civil servants worked on dementia care policy and delivery between 2009 and 2021; and when she plans to announce how many civil servants will work on the delivery of the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission.

Helen Whately: The information requested on the number of civil servants who worked on dementia care policy and delivery between 2009 and 2021 is not held centrally. We are currently unable to provide the information requested on resources for the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission as plans are under development. The specific number of civil servants working on the Mission will vary over time.

Integrated Care Systems

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Integrated Care Systems in involving local authorities in decision making and governance.

Helen Whately: The Health and Care Act 2022 established integrated care boards and required the creation of integrated care partnerships as statutory elements of integrated care systems. Both organisations have governance and decision-making roles for local government.

Diabetes: Luton South

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with diabetes in Luton South constituency in each of the last five years.

Helen Whately: The following table shows the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Luton South constituency in each year from 2016 to 2020, by diabetes type. Type 1Type 2 and other201625420201720535201820500201915520202025485 Source: National Diabetes Audit (NDA)Notes:A person may have more than one diabetes diagnosis within the NDA. In this case, an algorithm is used to derive the best diagnosis date and diabetes type for each person.Disclosure control has been applied to all figures, as per the NDA publication – all numbers are rounded to the nearest 5, unless the number is 1 to 7, in which case it is rounded to ‘5’.Diabetes type is reported as ‘type 1’ and ‘type 2 and other’ within the NDA. ‘Type 1’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 1 diabetes in the NDA. ‘Type 2 and other’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 2 diabetes, Maturity-onset Diabetes of the Young, other or non-specified diabetes in the NDA.

Diabetes: Slough

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with diabetes in Slough constituency in each of the last five years.

Helen Whately: The following table shows the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Slough constituency in each year from 2016 to 2020, by diabetes type. Type 1Type 2 and other201625745201725720201815775201925730202030690 Source: National Diabetes Audit (NDA)Notes:A person may have more than one diabetes diagnosis within the NDA. In this case, an algorithm is used to derive the best diagnosis date and diabetes type for each person.Disclosure control has been applied to all figures, as per the NDA publication – all numbers are rounded to the nearest 5, unless the number is 1 to 7, in which case it is rounded to ‘5’.Diabetes type is reported as ‘type 1’ and ‘type 2 and other’ within the NDA. ‘Type 1’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 1 diabetes in the NDA. ‘Type 2 and other’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 2 diabetes, Maturity-onset Diabetes of the Young, other or non-specified diabetes in the NDA.

Leukaemia

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that recent data on the rates of emergency diagnosis of leukaemia are published.

Will Quince: The National Disease Registration Service publishes the Emergency Presentations of Cancer, which includes three sub-types of leukaemia. The latest data shows information to December 2021 and further publications will be available in due course.

Kidney Diseases: Mental Health Services

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department plans to support the mental health needs of kidney patients, who are highly vulnerable to covid-19.

Maria Caulfield: Mental health and wellbeing resources are available online, including the Every Mind Matters platform or the Mental Health Hub on NHS.UK. Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to expand National Health Service mental health services in England, supporting an additional two million people to access treatment, including kidney patients.

Speech and Language Therapy: Children

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to mandate Auditory Verbal therapy on the NHS Clinical Pathway.

Maria Caulfield: There are no current plans to do so.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help reduce disparities in dementia diagnosis rates between Integrated Care Systems.

Helen Whately: NHS England has commissioned the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network to investigate the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates in targeted areas in England. This includes the assessment of underlying population characteristics such as rurality, ethnicity, and age to provide context for variation and enable targeted investigation and provision of support locally.

Speech and Language Therapy: Children

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of Auditory Verbal therapy as an early intervention for deaf children under five years old.

Maria Caulfield: No recent assessment has been made. ‘Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups’ was published in July 2016. This framework supports former clinical commissioning groups and from July 2022, integrated care boards in England to maximise value for local populations and provide consistent, high quality and integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her plans are to reduce waiting times for cancer treatment.

Helen Whately: We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity, including cancer services. The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will reduce the number of people waiting more than 62 days to start treatment following an urgent referred for suspected cancer to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023. We have established 88 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to support patients to receive an earlier diagnostic test closer to home, including for cancer. We will prioritise the delivery of up to 160 CDCs to provide approximately 17 million tests by March 2025, with capacity for an additional nine million per year once fully operational.

Cystic Fibrosis: Social Workers

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust entitled UK Cystic Fibrosis Service Resourcing 2019 to 2021, published in June 2022, what steps his Department is taking to to reduce the number of adult cystic fibrosis centres that do not have a social worker as part of their multi-disciplinary team.

Helen Whately: NHS England’s adult and paediatric cystic fibrosis service specifications set out national standards for cystic fibrosis services and states that cystic fibrosis multi-disciplinary teams in all centres should include social workers. There are regular reviews between regional commissioning teams and providers, which include ensuring compliance with standards in the service commissioned.

Cardiovascular Diseases: Health Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department's review of the NHS Long Term Plan will involve a reassessment of the targets relating to cardiovascular disease.

Helen Whately: The Department is working with NHS England to review delivery against the ambitions in the NHS Long Term Plan.

General Practitioners: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent and fully qualified GPs, excluding GPs in a training grade, were practicing in Easington constituency (a) on 1 November 2022 and (b) in 2013.

Neil O'Brien: This information is not collected in the format requested.

Life Expectancy

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his policy to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy between areas where it is highest and lowest by 2030.

Neil O'Brien: The Government is committed to supporting individuals to live healthier lives and improve access to health and care services. The Department continues to review measures to address health disparities and further information will be available in due course.

General Practitioners: Stockport

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of GP appointments in Stockport constituency that were conducted face to face in (a) the past 12 months and (b) 2013.

Neil O'Brien: This information is not held in the format requested.

General Practitioners: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of GP appointments there were in Easington constituency (a) in the last 12 months and (b) in 2013.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of GP appointments in the Easington constituency that were conducted face to face in (a) the past 12 months and (b) 2013.

Neil O'Brien: This information is not held in the format requested.

NHS: Standards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to encourage (a) a listening culture in the NHS, (b) families to provide feedback to NHS trusts and (c) NHS trusts to apologise to patients where neccesary.

Maria Caulfield: There are a range of routes for patients to provide feedback, including a National Health Service-wide complaints system, the Friends and Family Test, Patient Advice and Liaison Service and patient surveys.Under the statutory duty of candour, NHS organisations are legally required to act openly and transparently, to provide patients with an accurate account of incidences and to apologise when a notifiable safety incident occurs in the course of a patient’s care. In addition, NHS Resolution has issued the guidance ‘Saying sorry’ and ‘Being fair’ to organisations.

Endometriosis: Drugs

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NICE on the potential merits of producing guidance on the use of (a) Orlissa, (b) Visanne and (c) other endometriosis drugs.

Will Quince: There have been no recent discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. All new medicines are routinely considered through the established topic selection arrangements for the development of NICE’s guidance.

Endometriosis: Health Education

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase awareness of endometriosis among the public.

Maria Caulfield: The Women’s Health Strategy for England set out that gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis, are a priority area. We have appointed Professor Dame Lesley Regan as the Women’s Health Ambassador for England, who will focus on raising the profile for women’s health and increasing awareness.

Hernias: Surgery

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is producing guidance on hernia mesh and non-mesh hernia repair operations.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that surgeons in England are able to consult NICE guidelines on both mesh and non-mesh hernia repair.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance and advice on the use of hernia mesh and non-mesh hernia repair, including laparoscopic surgery for inguinal hernia repair and interventional procedures on the reinforcement of a permanent stoma with a synthetic or biological mesh to prevent a parastomal hernia. NICE is not currently developing new guidance on hernia repair.Clinicians are expected to take NICE’s guidance fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients. NICE’s updated guidance is communicated to the National Health Service and in the case of common procedures, such as groin hernia repair, is highlighted directly by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of learning disability services in (a) Slough and (b) England.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. In 2022/23, we are investing an additional £90 million to develop community support and to support discharge for people with a learning disability and autistic people in England.

Social Services: Pay

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what fiscal steps he will take to ensure departmental spending allows for adequate (a) pay and (b) grading structure for staff working in social care.

Helen Whately: The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022/23 made an additional £3.7 billion available for councils, including £1 billion for social care. In 2021/22, local authorities’ expenditure on adult social care was £21.4 billion which is an average increase of 2.5% per year in real terms between 2014/15 and 2021/22.The majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers which set pay and grading structures, independently of central Government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine fee rates, which should take account of wage costs based on local market conditions.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that there are an adequate number of mental health specialists within the NHS to meet the needs of patients.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term Plan stated the aim of increasing the mental health workforce in England by an additional 27,000 professionals by 2023/24. NHS England and Health Education England are working with local integrated care systems to confirm plans for service models, supply, retention and recruitment until 2024.NHS England continues to support local systems to develop tailored health and wellbeing offers to meet the needs of the local mental health workforce. This includes mental health hubs in each integrated care system and occupational health services which are being supported through the Growing Occupational Health and Wellbeing national programme.The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention.

Infant Mortality

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made to halve the rate of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths in England by 2025 to date.

Maria Caulfield: The Government’s Maternity Safety Ambition is to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries in babies occurring during or soon after birth. Since 2010, the rate of stillbirths has reduced by 19.3%, the rate of neonatal mortality for babies born over 24 weeks gestational age of viability has reduced by 36% and maternal mortality has reduced by 17%.

Mental Health Services: Staffordshire

Aaron Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health care provision in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) North Staffordshire.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. In September we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will increase access to National Health Service mental health services, including in Newcastle-under-Lyme and North Staffordshire. Ensuring easier access to general practice will expand this route to access mental health services.Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to expand NHS mental health services in England, including in Newcastle-under-Lyme and North Staffordshire.

Hyperactivity: Females

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the diagnostic rates of ADHD in adult women.

Maria Caulfield: Local commissioners are responsible for ensuring appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of the local population. Integrated care boards and National Health Service trusts should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management’.This guideline aims to improve the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), recognising that ADHD may be under-diagnosed in women and girls and to improve the quality of care and support that people of all ages receive. Diagnosis of ADHD may be undertaken in a variety of care settings and therefore there is currently no single established dataset to monitor the number of ADHD diagnoses nationally. NHS Digital is working to improve the quality of relevant datasets, such as the Mental Health Services Dataset and the Community Services dataset.

Prescription Drugs

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the cost to NHS England of unused prescription medicines in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021; and what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the level of unused prescription medicines.

Will Quince: Information on unused prescription medicines is not held centrally.NHS England is leading a programme on medicines optimisation which aims to help patients to improve outcomes and safety, take medicines as intended, avoid taking unnecessary medicines and reduce wastage.In September 2021 the findings and recommendations of the national overprescribing review were published, setting out a series of practical and cultural changes necessary to ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment for their needs while ensuring value for money.

Radiology: North East

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for her policies of the (a) rate of and (b) average time taken to fill clinical radiology vacancies in the North East.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the (a) rate of and (b) average time taken to fill clinical radiology vacancies in the North East.

Will Quince: No specific assessment has been made. National Health Service trusts are responsible for managing vacancies and recruitment processes locally.As of July 2022, there were 696 full time equivalent doctors working in the clinical radiology specialism in the North East and Yorkshire. This is an increase of 2.7% compared to July 2021 and a 34% increase since July 2010. From 2016 to 2021, there has been an increase in entry points of 63% in clinical radiology specialty training places in England. We have funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England, with the first graduates entering foundation training from August 2022. We have also delivered five new medical schools in England, including at the University of Sunderland.

Mental Health Services: Waiting Lists

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for an appointment with an NHS mental health professional in each region in each of the last five years.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for an NHS appointment with an eating disorder specialist in each region in each of the last five years.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally as there is no single waiting time standard across all mental health services and age groups. Data for services against which a waiting time standard has been set is published on a quarterly basis. Waiting times for access to psychological therapies, early intervention in psychosis and children and young people eating disorder services is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-mental-health-dashboard/. In February 2022, NHS England published the outcome of a consultation on the potential to introduce five new access and waiting time standards for mental health services. We are now working with NHS England on the next steps.

Surgery: East Yorkshire

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department taking to help reduce waiting times for elective surgery in East Yorkshire.

Will Quince: The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in East Yorkshire. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.The target to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures was met in July 2022 and we aim to eliminate waiting time of eighteen months or more by April 2023. This will be achieved through increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector and engaging with patients to understand choices made regarding their care.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is a deadline by which the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is required to convert the Conditional Marketing Authorisation for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for use in adults into a Full Marketing Authorisation; and whether there will be any implications for patients from a change in the status of the authorisation.

Neil O'Brien: In general, the Conditional Marketing Authorisation (CMA) is valid for one year, where the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will evaluate whether the company has addressed the post-authorisation measures and CMA commitments. If this has been sufficiently addressed, the CMA can be converted to a full Marketing Authorisation (MA).Where commitments need to be addressed, the CMA may be extended for further year before the conversion to a full MA can take place. It is not expected that there will be any major implications for patients from a change in the status of the Comirnaty vaccine’s authorisation.

Endometriosis: Maternity Services

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve maternity healthcare for women with endometriosis.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England is committed to ensuring all women have a personalised care and support plan in place to explore the management of their health and wellbeing. These plans aim to identify and agree the appropriate personal maternity care for women with endometriosis.

Surgery: Hove

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help waiting times for elective surgeries in Hove constituency.

Will Quince: The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in Hove. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.The target to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures was met in July 2022 and we aim to eliminate waiting time of eighteen months or more by April 2023. This will be achieved through increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector and engaging with patients to understand choices made regarding their care.

Surgery: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of cancelled operations in the Easington constituency in the past 12 months.

Will Quince: This information is not collected in the format requested.

Surgery: Garston and Halewood

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of cancelled operations in Garston and Halewood constituency in the past 12 months.

Will Quince: This information is not collected in the format requested.

General Practitioners: Greater London

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GPs registered under the North East London Integrated Care System have left the profession over the last three years.

Neil O'Brien: This information is not collected in the format requested.

General Practitioners: Greater London

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve GP retention in the North East London Integrated Care System catchment area.

Neil O'Brien: We are working with NHS England, Health Education England and the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England, including in North East London. This includes measures to improve recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice.The updated GP Contract Framework announced a number of new schemes, alongside continued support for existing recruitment and retention schemes for the general practice workforce. This includes the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the National GP Induction and Refresher, the Locum Support Scheme, the New to Partnership Payment and the Supporting Mentors Scheme.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Commons: Email

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Leader of the House, what security guidance she has received on the use of her personal email address for ministerial work.

Penny Mordaunt: It is Government policy not to comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements. Ministers receive support and expert advice to help them meet their obligations in the most appropriate and secure fashion. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.

Leader of the House of Commons: Email

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Leader of the House, whether she has sent Government documents to her personal email address since her appointment as Leader of the House.

Penny Mordaunt: The Cabinet Office has published guidance to departments on the use of private email that covers how information is held for the purposes of access to information, and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. This guidance is being updated to reflect changes in technology and ways of working, and will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.It is Government policy not to comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements. Ministers receive support and expert advice to help them meet their obligations in the most appropriate and secure fashion. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made in implementing the Safety Valve high needs intervention programme; and how many more local authorities she plans to invite to receive funding and support through that programme.

Claire Coutinho: Since the Safety Valve intervention programme began in the 2020/21 financial year, the department has struck 14 Safety Valve agreements with local authorities with the highest cumulative deficits on their dedicated schools grants. The agreements hold local authorities to account for delivery of plans that will reform their high needs systems to function well and sustainably, in return for funding to eliminate remaining historic deficits, generally over five financial years. The department continues to monitor these agreements closely.There are a further 21 local authorities currently involved in Safety Valve negotiations in the current financial year, 2022/23. Any agreements that the department makes will be published on gov.uk in March 2023.The department has also introduced the new Delivering Better Value in SEND (DBVS) programme, which is working with local authorities with less severe, but substantial deficits. The programme shares the same aim as the Safety Valve programme, to support local authorities to run their high needs systems more effectively and sustainably.We expect there to be a small number of local authorities that may join the Safety Valve intervention programme in future financial years where historic deficits remain high, but the department expects these authorities to tackle the underlying reasons for their deficit issues in the meantime, with support from the DBVS programme.

Children in Care: Siblings

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish all data and statistics on sibling and half sibling contact for children under local authority care.

Claire Coutinho: The department does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities provide information on looked after children through the SSDA903 annual return. However, this does not include information on sibling and half-sibling contact.

Childcare: Costs

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase provision of affordable childcare in the UK.

Claire Coutinho: The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare.In July 2022, the department announced measures to increase the take-up of childcare support and reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. These plans aim to give providers more flexibility and autonomy and ensure families can access government support to save them money on their childcare bills. This included consulting on changing staff-to-child ratios for 2-year-olds in group-based settings and clarifying flexibilities for childminders. As part of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, we have announced additional funding for the early years entitlements of £160 million in 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers.The department also announced a £1.2 million marketing campaign underway via the Childcare Choices website to ensure that every parent knows about the government-funded support they are eligible for. The website can be found here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.The department aims to attract more people to childminding, expand the childminder market by reducing the costs and bureaucracy facing providers, and encourage the growth of childminder agencies, enabling greater access to this flexible, affordable form of care. The full announcement can be viewed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drive-to-reduce-the-cost-of-childcare-for-parents.The department continues to work across government, looking at ways to make childcare more affordable and to encourage families to use the government-funded support they are entitled to.

Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have (a) specialist deaf units, (b) bases for deaf children and (c) deaf resource provisions in England as of 2 November 2022.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding was allocated to specialist deaf units, bases for deaf children or deaf resource provisions in England in each of the last five years.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital funding her Department has provided for (a) specialist deaf units, (b) bases and (c) other deaf resource provisions for deaf children in England in each of the last five years.

Claire Coutinho: The department does not hold all of the information requested. Available information on specific schools of interest can be found on the get information about schools service, which can be found at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.Revenue funding for such specialist facilities is allocated to local authorities through the high needs funding block of their dedicated schools grant. The department does not currently collect information on how much local authorities allocate in respect of the operation of specialist units.The department does not provide capital funding for individual categories of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) need. Rather, alongside the department’s continued investment in new special and alternative provision (AP) free schools, we provide capital grants to local authorities to help support the delivery of new places and improvements to existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP.In March 2022, the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. Prior to this, we also invested a total of £300 million HNPCA funding in the 2021/22 financial year and £365 million through the Special Provision Capital Fund from the 2018/19 financial year to the 2020/21 financial year. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities and they can use their grants to work with any school or institution in their area, including those that provide specialist deaf provision.

History: Ethnic Groups

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that Black history is taught in schools all year.

Nick Gibb: Teaching a knowledge-rich, well-sequenced history curriculum means that black history can be taught at all Key Stages of the curriculum. As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain. This can include the voices and experiences of black people in Britain.The freedom and flexibility in the history National Curriculum means that teachers can include black history as a natural part of the themes and eras in the curriculum, both in terms of British and world history, and their interconnection.The Department published a blog on Black History Month in October, where it was emphasised that there is scope in the curriculum to teach black history all year round. References to high quality curriculum resources were included and it highlighted how important it is to celebrate the contribution black communities and individuals have made over the centuries in shaping the dynamic and diverse country we have today. The blog can be accessed at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/10/03/black-history-month-how-black-history-is-taught-in-our-schools-2/.The Department is developing a Model History Curriculum to support teaching a history curriculum which reflects the diversity in history. This will be published in early 2024.

Schools: Insolvency

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of schools that are at risk of declaring bankruptcy or insolvency in 2023 in (a) England and (b) Plymouth.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the process is for recovering a Multiple Academy Trust who declares bankruptcy or insolvency.

Nick Gibb: The financial health of the academies sector is strong. The Department recognises that, in the current climate, some trusts may be facing financial difficulty, including those in Plymouth and across the country. Where that is the case, the Education and Skills Funding Agency will work with the trust and offer practical forms of support, including additional financial support, to protect the education of their pupils where necessary. This forms part of the wider Departmental oversight of financial, educational and governance delivery in the sector.The primary responsibility for the oversight of an academy trust rests with its trustees who must deliver strong governance, monitor the financial health of their trust, and ensure they remain as a going concern. The requirements and responsibilities for trustees on managing a going concern are set out in the Financial Reporting Council's Guidance on the Going Concern in the Academy Accounts Direction and the Academy Trust Handbook.The Department supports all schools through the School Resource Management (SRM) suite of tools and services, which help ensure that every school and academy trust can obtain the best value from their resources.

Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to increase re-skilling opportunities for adults.

Robert Halfon: The government is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliament, to ensure people have access to skills to build a fulfilling career in jobs the economy needs.The department has transformed apprenticeships by, driving up quality, better meeting the skill’s needs of employers through more flexible training models and offering opportunities to individuals to start and progress in their careers. The department is also increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25.The department is also investing in re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities to make sure adults, at any age, can upskill to reach their potential, transforming lives and delivering on the National Skills Fund commitment. As part of this investment, we have introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables learners without a level 3 qualification, or learners with any qualification level but earning below the National Living Wage, to gain a qualification for free.In addition, learners who want to upskill in their role, are looking for work, or are changing career can take part in Skills Bootcamps. These are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.As part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, the government has previously committed to introducing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) from 2025. The LLE will provide individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years of post-18 education (£37,000 in today’s fees) to use over their lifetime. This will be available for both modules and full courses at higher technical and degree levels (levels 4 to 6), regardless of whether they are provided in colleges or universities. The LLE will support study throughout a learner’s life, with the opportunity to train, retrain and upskill as needed in response to changing skills needs and employment patterns.The department is promoting and increasing awareness of our skills provision to learners and employers through the Skills for Life campaign, which targets employers, young people, and adults. Our campaign toolkits provide more information and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/skills-campaign-toolkits.The department continues to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). £1.34 billion was invested in the 2021/22 academic year. The AEB fully funds, or co-funds, skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3. This is to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority (GLA). Devolution of the AEB gives MCAs and the GLA direct control over adult education provision for their residents and provides local areas the opportunity to meet local needs.The Education and Skills Funding Agency is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas where colleges, local authorities and other providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB funding, to best meet the needs of their communities.

Financial Services: Primary Education

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to embed financial education in primary schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department has introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, providing young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic knowledge that pupils should be taught. This knowledge is vital, as a strong grasp of numeracy and numbers will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, for example, using percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money.Primary schools can choose to teach additional financial education content through external organisations but the Department does not monitor this. The Department trusts schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their school, drawing on the expertise and support of subject associations and other organisations that produce and quality assure resources.There is a wide range of support available. For instance, the Money and Pension Service published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England, to support head teachers and decision makers to enhance the financial education currently delivered in their schools. In addition, the Department, together with the Money and Pensions Service, will deliver a series of joint financial education webinars between January and March 2023, aimed at improving teacher confidence, skills and knowledge. This will provide a launchpad for further engagement with training and resources to support continuous improvement.

Supply Teachers: Employment Agencies

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure teaching agencies are fully regulated.

Nick Gibb: Schools are free to recruit supply teachers and most use supply agencies. Agencies are required to undertake the same rigorous checks as schools when recruiting staff. The Department has set out these requirements in the Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 statutory guidance, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1101454/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2022.pdf. The Government has a commercial framework which schools can use to recruit supply teachers and 118 agencies have registered.All agencies on the framework are accredited by an approved accreditation body which audits them on an annual basis. All agencies that do business through the framework must be transparent about the fees they charge to schools and waive some additional fees. The Department recommends that schools consider using preferred suppliers to meet their staffing needs.In addition, supply teachers have statutory rights, including entitlement to equal treatment after 12 weeks as someone doing the same role and employed directly, statutory entitlement to holiday pay, employment rights (such as the national minimum wages and sick pay), and access to workplace pensions.

Reading: Teaching Methods

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the systematic synthetic phonics programmes validated by her Department are affordable for schools to purchase.

Nick Gibb: In April 2021, the Department published the revised core criteria for effective systematic synthetic phonics teaching programmes and launched a new process to validate complete systematic synthetic phonics teaching programmes.Programmes on the validated list meet all of the Department’s criteria for an effective systematic phonics programme. There are currently 31 phonics programmes on the list, giving schools a wide choice of programmes to select from. The validated list includes programmes with a range of price points, including school-to-school and not-for-profit options. There is no statutory requirement for schools to choose one of the systematic synthetic phonics programmes on the validated list and Ofsted does not have a preferred programme or approach.The Government is, via the English Hubs Programme and Accelerator Fund, making funding available to eligible schools to support the take up and successful implementation of a validated systematic synthetic phonics programme. On 9 October, the Department announced that it is investing £24 million through our English Hubs programme to build children’s literacy, with a focus on enabling more schools to develop expertise in the teaching of early reading and embed high-quality phonics.Over 750 schools have so far graduated from the English Hubs Programme and the Accelerator Fund has supported over 450 schools, with more schools taking part this year. Details of the network of English Hubs are available here: http://www.englishhubs.org/.

Teachers

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a breakdown by local authority of the number of teachers in the state sector in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: Information on the state-funded school workforce in England and each local authority, including the number of teachers in each of the last five years, is published in the annual ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistics at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.Local authority figures and time series can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/30c60a7f-1376-48b7-2d07-08dab0fa305d.

Ministry of Justice

Human Rights: Reform

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answers of 23 September 2022 to Question 51747 and of 1 November 2022 to Question 69851, whether he expects the Bill of Rights to return to the House as introduced on at First Reading.

Mike Freer: This Government was elected with a manifesto commitment to ‘update the Human Rights Act... to ensure there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government’. The Government stands by this commitment.

Ministry of Justice: Recruitment

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on external recruitment consultants in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021; and what 10 projects or work areas in each of those financial years required the greatest expenditure on support from those consultants.

Mike Freer: I can confirm the MoJ has several contracts to deliver external recruitment services; however, these are not consultant based.The largest of these recruitment service contracts is with TMP Worldwide and spend in the financial years requested in summarised below:2019/20£1,509,338.932020/21£2,848,380.202021/22£7,249,764.60Total£11,607,483.73The spend per project is not available as it is not recorded in the granular level; however, the majority of the spend is for activities to support both Prison Officer and Probation staff recruitment.There are other recruitment services contracts which have been awarded over the financial years requested. These are listed below.Contract TitleSupplierTotal Advertised Contract ValueRecruitment for NED's AppointmentGatenby Sanderson£52,000.00MOJ Recruitment of Non-Executive DirectorsGatenby Sanderson£45,600.00DTS RecruitmentCertes Computing LTD£115,000.00DTS RecruitmentBadenoch and Clark Ltd£115,000.00Tax Staff Recruitment ServicesRobertson Bell£50,000.00

Companies: Registration

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) company directors and (b) other company officers were (i) prosecuted for and (ii) convicted of a criminal offence related to registration requirements for People with Significant Control under 21A of the Companies Act 2006, as amended, in each year since 2016.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) company directors and (b) other company officers convicted of a criminal offence related to registration requirements for People with Significant Control under 21A of the Companies Act 2006, as amended, in each year since 2016, were sentenced to (i) any term of imprisonment and (ii) the maximum term of imprisonment provided for in that Act.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted, for various offences under the Companies Act 2006, for the years 2017-2021 in the Outcomes by Offence data tool 2021, and for preceding years in the Outcomes by Offence tool 2020.However, the role of the person or business being prosecuted or convicted, including whether they were company director or company officers is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings database. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he intends to publish his Department’s data for spending over £500 using a government procurement card for the period October to December 2021.

Mike Freer: The department expects to publish the data by the end of 2022.

Disasters

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to introduce a public advocate as set out in the Public Advocate (No.2) Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Freer: The Government is committed to supporting bereaved families after public disasters and during public inquests. We have consulted on proposals to establish an Independent Public Advocate and we are carefully considering the best way forward.

Ministry of Justice: Correspondence and Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Mike Freer: All departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus. The Ministry of Justice attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence, and officials remain committed to providing the highest level of service. To complement the work of the Parliamentary Capability Team, the Ministry of Justice also runs tailored training sessions for MoJ staff specific to PQs and correspondence to drive up the quality and timeliness of our responses. These sessions have been delivered 7 times since July.

Prisoner Escapes

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are currently at large having escaped from custody; and what that figure was in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: Data is available on the number of offenders still at large, who had escaped from custody as of 1st May of each year. Across the five years, 55 offenders escaped from custody.Escapes from custody include where an offender flees during a court appearance, when being escorted from court to prison and, in extremely rare circumstances, directly from prison.The vast majority were recaptured by police either immediately or within a matter of hours. Offenders who break the law will be punished and face extra time in jail when appropriate.Please see the below table for a breakdown of these figures by year and whether the prisoner was still at large on 1st May of that year.Financial YearNumber of escapesOf which, number still at large2017-18 (3)1302018-19 (4)902019-20 (5)1632020-21 (6)512021-22 (7)125 (1) A prisoner escapes when they are able to pass beyond the perimeter of a secure prison or the control of escorting staff. This may involve overcoming physical security restraints such as a wall or fence; locks, bolts or bars; a secure vehicle; handcuffs; or the direct supervision of escorting staff.(2) Includes escapes from establishments, HMPPS escorts and contractor escorts(3) Still at large as at 1st May 2018(4) Still at large as at 1st May 2019(5) Still at large as at 1st May 2020(6) Still at large as at 1st May 2021(7) Still at large as at 1st May 2022

Youth Custody: Age

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he will implement the order of a judge at Winchester Crown Court that Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai be removed from a young offenders' institution as he is an adult; and what processes his Department has in place to assess whether those awaiting trial on remand are adults accommodated in the Youth estate and under-18 young offender institutions.

Damian Hinds: Following the determination by Mrs Justice Cutts on 25 October 2022 that he is 21 years old, Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai was placed in Feltham B Young Offender Institution, which accommodates 18- 21-year-olds. He has now transferred to another site within the adult prison estate.If there is reason to suspect that someone presenting at court as a child is 18 years old or over, an age assessment will be carried out by the local authority. If it confirms that the person is aged 18 or over, the court warrant will be amended accordingly. If an appeal is lodged, the young person will remain in the current placement with measures in place to safeguard the young person and others. While checks are being carried out, a contingency plan will be made to transfer them to the adult estate, should that prove necessary.

Non-molestation Orders

Aaron Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of increasing the period of time for which non-molestation orders can be issued.

Edward Argar: Non-molestation orders are civil orders made by the family court to protect victims and their children from the harms of domestic abuse and there is no time limit on the duration of an order.Non-molestation orders can be made for a specified time or until a further order is made. As non-molestation orders have no statutory minimum or maximum time limit, the duration of each order is at the discretion of the court. The duration of each order will be determined by a number of factors, including, the risks of further domestic abuse, whether the order was made on notice or without notice to the respondent, and whether there has been a follow-up hearing (known as a return hearing).In practice, these orders are often made for a period of 6-12 months, during which time the order can be varied (including to extend it) or discharged.

Homicide: Sentencing

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his planned timetable is for the publication of his Department's review of domestic homicide sentencing; and whether he plans to take steps to amend his Department's policies in this area.

Edward Argar: Last year, the government commissioned an independent expert, Clare Wade KC, to undertake a review of domestic homicide sentencing. The review was delivered to the department in June this year.The Review examines a number of important and complex issues. Therefore prior to publication, the government is carefully considering its recommendations and next steps.This government is fully committed to ensuring that the sentencing framework responds appropriately to cases of domestic homicide and that sentences reflect the severity of these crimes.

Treasury

Corporate Joint Committees

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on Corporate Joint Committees; and what progress has been made on ensuring that said committees are able to (a) reclaim VAT, (b) access borrowing via Public Works Loan Board, (c) access Debt Management Account Deposit facilities.

Victoria Atkins: Treasury officials engage regularly with the Welsh Government on a range of issues, including the Corporate Joint Committees (CJCs). Bodies such as the CJCs can apply to HM Treasury for admission to VAT refund schemes. Applications are assessed based on objective criteria. The status of any applications that are made is a confidential matter between applicants, HM Treasury and HMRC. HMT is committed to the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) offering low-cost loans to local authorities. HMT has indicated to the Welsh Government earlier this year that we agree in principle with PWLB access being given to CJCs. The Debt Management Office (DMO) provides the Debt Management Account Deposit Facility (DMADF) as part of its cash management operations designed to support local authorities' cash management. The DMO considers applications from eligible institutions. The current list of eligible institutions is published on the DMO’s website at https://www.dmo.gov.uk/responsibilities/money-markets/debt-management-account-deposit-facility-dmadf/#eligible_institutions

Energy: Taxation

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the Energy Profits Levy Investment Allowance on (a) the UK’s carbon emissions and ability to achieve its net zero target and (b) the UK’s ability to deliver its commitments towards international climate change targets.

James Cartlidge: The Energy Profits Levy was introduced from 26 May in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices. It is an additional 25% surcharge on UK oil and gas profits. The Net Zero Strategy was clear that the North Sea basin has a key role to play in contributing to the transition towards net zero, and the Government has been clear that it wants to see the oil and gas sector reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs, and the UK’s energy security That is why the levy includes a new 80% investment allowance to support capital expenditure on oil and gas related activities purposes. It means the total tax relief on investment nearly doubles - for every £1 businesses invest they will overall get a 91p tax saving. The Government has calculated that it expects the levy to raise over £7 billion in 2022/23, and around £28 billion over the period to 2025/26. This is inclusive of the impact of investment expenditure relief.

Ministry of Defence: Consultants

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department spent in total on external management consultants in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury’s spend on external management consultants is published and available for viewing within the Annual Report and Accounts. We have included the links to the published Annual Report and Accounts for each of the available years in question within the table below. Financial YearPublication LinkPage Reference2019-20https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020Page 1042020-21https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021Page 1012021-22HM Treasury annual report and accounts 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Page 122

Air Passenger Duty: Northern Ireland

Paul Girvan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish an update on the progress of the technical working group on Air Passenger Duty in Northern Ireland.

James Cartlidge: The Government established a technical working group to explore the operational and legal challenges to changing APD in Northern Ireland at Budget 2018. Members included representatives from industry, experts, and civil servants from both the UK Government and Northern Ireland. Since the technical working group was established, the UK Government published a consultation on aviation tax reform in 2021, to consider how APD on a UK-wide basis could better support Union connectivity and the Government’s environmental objectives. As part of this process, the Government engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive and other stakeholders such as Belfast International Airport and Tourism Northern Ireland. Their views were considered alongside the consultation responses. At Autumn Budget 2021, the Government published the summary of responses to the consultation and announced that, from April 2023, it would introduce a new reduced domestic band of APD set at £6.50 for economy passengers. The new domestic band will cover flights between Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales, in order to support connectivity across the UK. As a result, around 9 million passengers will pay less APD in 2023/24. A new ultra long-haul band, will also be introduced to ensure that those who fly furthest, and have the greatest environmental impact, will pay the most.

Visual Impairment: Cost of Living

Sarah Champion: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what targeted support his Department provides to ensure blind and partially sighted people can meet the rising cost of living.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take further fiscal steps to reduce the impact of the rising cost of living on people who have sight loss.

John Glen: The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as blind or partially sighted people. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to get households through this winter, while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way. People who are blind or partially sighted and in receipt of extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 from 20th September, to help with the rising cost of living. The DWP has already processed around 6 million such payments. This payment can be received in addition to the other £650 Cost of Living Payment for households on means-tested benefits that was announced as part of the same package. Individuals who have limited or no ability to work because of their disability or health condition, and are in receipt of means-tested benefits such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance or the Universal Credit Health top up, are eligible for this support. People who are blind or partially sighted will also benefit from other forms of non-means-tested support which the Government is providing to assist with household energy bills. We have taken decisive action to support millions of households with rising energy costs this winter through the Energy Price Guarantee, ​which limits the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas and electricity. In addition to the Energy Price Guarantee, millions of the most vulnerable households will receive further support this year through the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme. The £150 Council Tax rebate will also mean that all households in Council Tax bands A-D will receive a rebate, and 99% of eligible households have already received this. Lastly, to support households who need further help or who are not eligible for elements of the wider package of support, the Government is also providing an extra £500 million of local support to help with the cost of essentials until the end of March 2023, via the Household Support Fund. This cost of living support is in addition to the existing specific financial support to help blind or partially sighted people. The Government provides the Blind Person's Allowance (BPA), an extra amount of tax-free allowance that can be added to an individual’s Personal Allowance, to those who are blind or severely sight impaired. In 2022-23, the allowance is £2,600 and therefore worth £520 given the basic rate of 20%. If the recipient does not pay tax or earn enough to use their full BPA, the remainder of the allowance can be transferred to a spouse or civil partner. We are continuing to keep the situation under review and are focusing support on the most vulnerable whilst ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way.

Development Aid: Expenditure

Ben Bradley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy not to increase foreign aid contributions during the period of increased cost of living in the UK.

John Glen: The Government understands that people across the UK are worried about the cost of living; that is why we announced £37 billion of support for the cost of living this financial year. We have taken decisive action to support millions of households and business with rising energy costs this winter through the Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. We are continuing to keep the situation under review and focus support on the most vulnerable whilst ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way. In July 2021 the former Chancellor set out the fiscal circumstances under which the UK will make the return to spending 0.7% of its GNI on ODA. This is set out in detail in a written ministerial statement, here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-12/hcws172. Each year, the Government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely and will review and confirm, in accordance with the Act, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecasts.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer,  if he will make it his policy to (a) bring forward the local government finance settlement to the same date as the Autumn Statement and (b) to increase the local government settlement in line with inflation or above; whether he has had discussions with the (i) the Prime Minister and (ii) Secretary of State for Communities and Levelling Up about the ability of local authority leaders to (A) plan for and (B) provide public services without this information and funding; and if he will make a statement.

John Glen: The timing of the Local Government Finance Settlement is a matter for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The Government recognises the pressures that local authorities are facing and continues to work with the sector to understand the impacts on service delivery and budgets. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will confirm the approach to funding allocations for 2023-24 in the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.

Annual Investment Allowance

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the relevant stakeholders on expanding the Annual Investment Allowance to cover workplace training.

John Glen: The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is available for investment in plant and machinery. In the 23 September Growth Plan, the government announced that it would permanently set the AIA at £1 million. Unlike capital expenditure, workplace training is tax-deductible for companies and so expanding the AIA to cover workplace training is not something the government is considering. The Government is, however, supporting workplace training. The Government has transformed apprenticeships – which are jobs with training for anyone of any age – to align with employer needs and the Spending Review 2021 increased total government spending on skills in England by £3.8 billion by 2024-25.

Fees and Charges

James Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of late payment fees charged by (a) companies and (b) banks on people during the cost of living crisis.

Andrew Griffith: Individual lenders, both banks and companies that offer credit products, make their own commercial decisions on late payment fees for their products. In doing so, they must comply with the rules and principles of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the regulator for consumer credit firms. This includes ensuring firms are ‘treating customers fairly’ and that any fees and charges levied on borrowers in financial difficulty are fair and do no more than cover their costs. The FCA can impose tough sanctions, such as banning products, imposing unlimited fines and ordering firms to pay money back to customers, where wrongdoing is found. The FCA also issued ‘Tailored Support Guidance’ in January 2021 which was based on FCA rules and principles and provides guidance on the FCA’s expectations of firms when supporting borrowers in financial difficulty, including providing tailored forbearance. In June 2022, the FCA confirmed that this guidance remains relevant for borrowers in financial difficulties due to the rising cost of living. More broadly, the government understands that people across the UK are worried about the cost of living, and are seeing their disposable incomes decrease as they spend more on the essentials. That is why the government has announced £37 billion of support for the cost of living this financial year. The government is continuing to keep cost of living pressures under review and focus support on the most vulnerable whilst also ensuring that any actions are fiscally responsible.

Public Expenditure

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish an equalities impact of the Autumn Spending Review along with the other official documents published on the day of the review.

John Glen: In developing proposals at fiscal events, including previous and forthcoming events, such as the Autumn Budget planned for 17 November, the Treasury takes care to ensure compliance with legal requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010 to consider the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics. This is in line with both our legal obligations to pay “due regard” to equality impacts and with our strong commitment to promoting fairness. In the interests of transparency and going beyond legal requirements, HMRC publishes a summary of equality impacts for tax measures within the Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) alongside the associated legislation.

Bank Services

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with local authorities using procurement processes to obtain banking services on the number of banks engaging in the procurement process.

Andrew Griffith: The decisions about what products are offered and to whom, including Local Authorities, remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies and it would be inappropriate for Government to intervene in these decisions. The Government encourages Local Authorities to engage with banks regarding the services available.

Local Government: Bank Services

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his department has taken to ensure that local authorities have access to adequate banking services.

Andrew Griffith: The decisions about what products are offered and to whom, including Local Authorities, remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies and it would be inappropriate for Government to intervene in these decisions. The Government encourages Local Authorities to engage with banks regarding the services available.

Cancer: Cost of Living

David Warburton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on people living with cancer.

John Glen: The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as people living with cancer. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to get households through this winter, while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way.People who are living with cancer and in receipt of extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 from 20th September, to help with the rising cost of living. The DWP has already processed around 6 million such payments. This payment can be received in addition to the other £650 Cost of Living Payment for households on means-tested benefits that was announced as part of the same package. Individuals who have limited or no ability to work because of their disability or health condition, and are in receipt of means-tested benefits such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance or the Universal Credit Health top up, are eligible for this support. People living with cancer will also benefit from other forms of non-means-tested support which the Government is providing to assist with household energy bills. We have taken decisive action to support millions of households with rising energy costs this winter through the Energy Price Guarantee, ​which limits the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas and electricity.In addition to the Energy Price Guarantee, millions of the most vulnerable households will receive further support this year through the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme. The £150 Council Tax rebate will also mean that all households in Council Tax bands A-D will receive a rebate, and 99% of eligible households have already received this. Lastly, to support households who need further help or who are not eligible for elements of the wider package of support, the Government is also providing an extra £500 million of local support to help with the cost of essentials until the end of March 2023, via the Household Support Fund. We are continuing to keep the situation under review and are focusing support on the most vulnerable whilst ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way.

Fiscal Policy: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what further progress the Government has made on fiscal framework negotiations with the Scottish Government.

John Glen: In June 2022, the UK Government and Scottish Government finalised arrangements for the independent report on tax and welfare Block Grant Adjustments, which was launched on the same day. Following a successful call for stakeholder evidence, the report is now being finalised by the independent authors and is expected to be presented to both governments imminently. The two governments have also discussed the scope for the Fiscal Framework review while the independent report has been underway.

Research and Development Tax Credit

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his officials have had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, regarding the (a) definition of innovation for the purposes of R&D tax credits and (b) the extent to which the hospitality sector claims R&D tax credits.

Victoria Atkins: In 2021 the government launched a review of the Research and Development (R&D) tax reliefs. Several reforms have since been announced, including bringing pure mathematics research within scope of the reliefs by modifying the definition. The government is continuing the review, with any further reforms to be announced as usual at a fiscal event. According to the R&D tax credits statistics publication, in 2020-21 the accommodation and food sector made 810 claims for either the Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) or the SME R&D tax relief, at £20 million cost to the exchequer.

Carbon Emissions: Taxation

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about the potential merits of introducing tax reforms with the aim of both reducing the carbon consumption of the wealthiest and raising revenue for climate action.

Victoria Atkins: There are several taxes that have been designed to incentivise greener choices by individuals. For example, at Spring Statement 2022 the Government announced the expansion of the VAT relief on the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs) to residential accommodation in Great Britain. The expansion of the relief, which includes the zero-rating of solar panel, insulation and heat pump installations, represents an additional £280 million of support for investment in ESMs. This Government also uses carbon pricing to reduce carbon emissions and to help raise revenue to support government priorities including continued climate action. The UK has two main carbon pricing policies - the Carbon Price Support and the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The CPS rate has contributed to a significant shift in the economics of, and investment incentives for, renewable energy sources compared to coal for domestic power generation. The ETS works on the 'cap and trade' principle by setting a cap on the total amount of certain greenhouse gases that can be emitted by covered sectors. Since March 2021, Government has committed a total of £30 billion of domestic investment for the Green Industrial Revolution.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Jerusalem: Embassies

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities on a potential move of the UK’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

David Rutley: There are no plans to move the UK embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv. Israel is a close friend and key strategic partner, built on decades of cooperation. We will continue to strengthen our relationship with Israel through our Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Israel: Embassies

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department will include religious representatives in the review of moving the British Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held recent discussions with his counterparts on the possibility of relocating the British Embassy in Israel from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.

David Rutley: There are no plans to move the UK embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv. Israel is a close friend and key strategic partner, built on decades of cooperation. We will continue to strengthen our relationship with Israel through our Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Bermuda and Cayman Islands: Marriage

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with LGBT activists and organisations from the (a) Cayman Islands and (b) Bermuda where the right to marriage for same-sex couples is refused by their respective Governments.

David Rutley: The inhabited British Overseas Territories are separate, largely self-governing jurisdictions with their own democratically elected representatives. The relationship with the Overseas Territories is based on partnership. Policy on marriage law is an area of devolved responsibility.The majority of Overseas Territories have legal recognition and protection for same sex relationships, either through marriage or through civil partnerships as is the case in Bermuda. In 2020 the Governor of the Cayman Islands enacted civil partnership legislation to recognise same-sex partnerships in order to comply with the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal. The UK Government continues to engage with and encourage remaining Territories that have not put in place arrangements to recognise and protect same sex relationships, to do so.The UK Government remains open to further engagement with LGBT+ activists and organisations across the Overseas Territories to support increased recognition and protections for same-sex relationships in the Overseas Territories.

Brazil: Elections

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the outcome of the 2022 presidential election in Brazil on UK-Brazil relations.

David Rutley: The UK has a deep and longstanding relationship with Brazil. We share commitments to human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and enjoy strong bilateral ties in security, trade, climate and nature. We will be working to further develop these alongside the new administration. As the Prime Minister has also done, the Foreign Secretary publicly congratulated President-elect Luis Inácio Lula da Silva following his election victory. We look forward to the UK and Brazil working together as we continue to strengthen our historic partnership.

Guyana: Borders

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Guyanese counterpart on submissions to the International Court of Justice from both Guyana and Venezuela on the Guyana's objections to the border controversy case, in which Guyana is seeking a final and binding judgment to ascertain its territorial boundaries.

David Rutley: I have not yet had the opportunity to meet with my Guyanese counterpart but hope to do so in the near future. The UK and Guyana have a close relationship, evidenced by President Ali's visit to the UK earlier this year when he met with the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and His Majesty King Charles, as the Prince of Wales. The UK is clear that the 1899 Arbitral Award settled the border between Guyana and Venezuela; we recognise the ongoing court case in the International Court of Justice.

Development Aid

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reserving posts in the Diplomatic Service and his Department to UK nationals on the (a) efficacy of and (b) recruitment of expertise for UK Official Development Assistance programmes.

David Rutley: The Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNR) set out who is eligible to be employed in the Civil Service. Under the CSNRs, all posts in the Diplomatic Service were reserved for British nationals only. When the FCDO was formed, the Foreign Secretary decided that a reserved model best meets with the FCDO's security and representational requirements.FCDO continues to review workforce policies to ensure that it has access to the skills and experience to deliver its objectives.

Brazil: Energy

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Brazil Prosperity Fund Programme Full Business Case published on 10 December 2020, whether opening up Brazil’s energy markets remains a Government aim; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: The UK has been working with the Brazilian Government to support Brazil's low carbon and renewable energy priorities. In January, following years of UK - Brazil cooperation, Brazil brought in a decree to regulate the offshore wind sector. We are providing continued support in this space. Our Brazil Energy Programme is helping Brazil move towards the development of an inclusive hydrogen industry by working with Brazil's Energy Research Office to develop understanding of the evidence base for Blue and Turquoise Hydrogen. This will allow Brazil to accelerate the implementation of its National Hydrogen Program (PNH), launched in 2021.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Correspondence and Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.

David Rutley: The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions and correspondence from MPs, either directly or on behalf of their constituents. All departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.Following the significant increase in numbers since 2020, the FCDO has an ongoing focused programme of work to streamline processes and improve response times to tackle the high volume. Annual and Quarterly data on MP/Peer letter performance, published on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers shows the FCDO has improved from 50% on time in 2021 to 72% so far this year. The latest House of Commons Procedure Committee report published in July 2022 records the FCDO improvement in answering ordinary written parliamentary questions from 87% for 2019-21 Session to 94% for 2021-22, and similarly for named day written parliamentary questions from 84% to 89%.

Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the UK-Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council in November 2022 was postponed; if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of that postponement; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: To enable substantial discussions between UK Ministers and leaders of the Overseas Territories, the Joint Ministerial Council on 7-9 November will be rescheduled. The UK Government values its relationship with the Territories and wants to ensure this important meeting is fruitful and substantive. Following changes to Ministerial portfolios, Lord Goldsmith was recently appointed Minister for Overseas Territories. Lord Goldsmith will be attending COP27 and is unable to co-chair the conference. There will be minimal costs to the UK from the postponement as arrangements are provided largely in-house. The UK Government does not plan to make a statement on this issue.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Written Questions

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to answer named day Question 65661 on Israel: Embassies, tabled by the hon. Member for Hammersmith on 18 October 2022.

David Rutley: There are no plans to move the UK embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv. Israel is a close friend and key strategic partner, built on decades of cooperation. We will continue to strengthen our relationship with Israel through our Embassy in Tel Aviv.

India: Visas

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the Indian visa application process on UK visitors to that country; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the present visa system; if he will make an estimate of the number of prospective tourists that would be affected; and if he has had recent discussions with his Indian counterpart on these changes.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: This is an internal matter for the Government of India (GoI). We respect the Indian Government's right to set its migration and citizenship policies, just as we expect the Indian authorities to respect UK Government policy. We regularly raise the matter of our exclusion from the list of countries eligible for e-visas with the GoI. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary raised this with the Indian External Affairs Minister during his visit to India on 29 October. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon also raised it with the Indian High Commissioner on 25 October. British nationals can continue to use the GoI's regular/paper visa application services for all visa categories. We will update India Travel Advice with the latest information if there are any changes in India's visa rules.

Economic Crime

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of global governance in tackling networks of illicit finance.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: As the Integrated Review emphasizes, illicit finance is one of the transnational challenges of the decade. As such, it requires a global response. The UK strongly supports the work of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global standard setting body on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.In April 2022 UK ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the FATF's mission including tackling the proceeds of corruption.The FATF works closely with global partners - such as IMF, World Bank, UN, INTERPOL and the OECD - to jointly tackle illicit finance. The UK will continue its key role in FATF, including ensuring FATF remains an effective body to help tackle global illicit finance threats.

Japan: Russia

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Russian government on Japan's claim to the islands of Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashiri and Etorofu.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We consider the matter to be primarily a bilateral issue between Russia and Japan. We hope the dispute over the islands can be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.

Australia: Subversion

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Australian University Foreign Interference Taskforce at tackling foreign interference; and whether he has held recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential merits of establishing a similar body in the UK.

David Rutley: The Government regularly liaises with international partners, including Australia, on the issue of foreign interference. We also support the UK university sector to mitigate the risks. With our support, Universities UK has worked to increase understanding of the threat, issued guidelines for institutions in October 2020, and co-signed a statement on 'safe, secure and stable internationalisation' with counterparts, including Australia. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will also empower English providers to address concerns about freedom of speech related threats and possible influence of overseas money, without reducing the ability of our world class universities to collaborate globally.

Russia: Banks

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason not all Russian banks have had sanctions imposed upon them in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Leo Docherty: The UK has sanctioned 20 Russian banks, with global assets of around £940 billion. Systemically important Russian banks have either been designated for an asset freeze, or have had their assets frozen through designations against individuals who own or control those institutions. This accounts for over 80% of the Russian banking sector.We have already blocked access to £275 billion of the Russian Central Bank's foreign currency reserves which makes up 60% of Putin's 'war chest' of foreign reserves. We will continue to pressure Putin's regime, including through further sanctions designations along with the humanitarian, economic and military support we are providing to Ukraine.

Kyiv: Water Supply

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help supply Kyiv with water after recent Russian missile strikes on that city.

Leo Docherty: The UK has committed £220 million in humanitarian assistance to support the most vulnerable in Ukraine and the region following the Russian invasion. This includes a contribution to the Disasters Emergency Committee which has helped 1.7 million people in Ukraine to benefit from the supply of clean water. We have also provided £15 million to UNICEF, who are improving access to safe water for 3.5 million people by delivering water treatment chemicals and equipment in Ukraine. These organisations are working swiftly to respond to the recent Russian attacks on critical national infrastructure, including by repairing water treatment plants. The UK has, and will continue to, call out such attacks.

Alexei Navalny

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the charging of Alexei Navalny with promoting extremism and terrorism.

Leo Docherty: The UK condemns the continuing politically motivated detention of Mr Navalny. We continue to urge the Russian authorities to release Mr Navalny immediately and unconditionally, as required by the February 2021 decision by the European Court of Human Rights.

Belarus: Ukraine

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the threat posed by Belarus to Ukraine.

Leo Docherty: The UK remains vigilant to the threat Belarus poses to Ukraine. Given Russia's illegal military actions in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus's joint deployment of their 'Regional Group of Forces', risks escalating regional instability. The UK Government has already imposed extensive sanctions against the Belarusian regime and regime-linked individuals and entities for their support of Putin's illegal war. With our allies, we will maintain this pressure on Lukashenko's regime until he withdraws his support to and facilitation of Russia's invasion. Furthermore, we will not hesitate to impose further sanctions should the Belarusian regime increase their involvement in this illegal war.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Security

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the risks to (a) security within the Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) regional security of recent expansions of the territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo controlled by the M23 armed group.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK condemns the resumption of fighting and recent territorial advance of the March 23 Movement (M23) in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The impact on civilians is unacceptable. We have called for an immediate end to hostilities and for M23 to withdraw from its positions and have raised these issues with Governments in the region. All parties should commit to peaceful dialogue and engage fully with the Nairobi and Luanda-led processes.

Tigray: Development Aid

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans his Department has to provide (a) medical supplies and (b) other aid to Tigray.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) medical supplies and (b) other aid to Tigray are delivered effectively to the people of Tigray.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We welcome the peace agreement and cessation of hostilities announced on 2 November between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and their commitment to scale-up the delivery of life-saving aid to Tigray. As the new agreement includes restoration of services and unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, it is imperative that access is facilitated without delay so medical and other supplies can reach the people of Tigray. The UK is committed to working with the Government of Ethiopia and authorities in Tigray to expand aid deliveries to areas affected by the conflict and to promote long-term peace and security.

Convention on Biological Diversity

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any Ministers from his Department plan to attend the COP 15 UN Biodiversity Conference.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Lord Goldsmith, Minister for Energy, Climate Change and Environment, is planning on attending the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 conference on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Africa: Food Supply

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on tackling the food crisis in (a) Ethiopia, (b) Kenya, (c) Nigeria, (d) Somalia and (e) other African countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is pressing for an urgent collective response to food insecurity in Africa. We continue to support the G7 Global Alliance on Food Security and the UN Global Crisis Response Group. At the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting the Foreign Secretary discussed with partners such as Kenya and the African Union how food insecurity can be best tackled.FCDO Ministers have also called and continue to call multilateral institutions to do more. The UN has now confirmed a scale-up of efforts in Somalia and Ethiopia. The World Bank and Africa Development Bank have also announced more than $35 billion of funding for food security across the region.

Development Aid

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK is on course to spend 0.3 per cent of GNI as Official Development Assistance outside the UK in 2022.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government is prioritising essential overseas aid funding, while also meeting needs of people seeking sanctuary in the UK from conflict in Ukraine and Afghanistan. We are working through how best to manage ODA budget pressures with HM Treasury and bring certainty to our development programmes, in line with the timing of the Autumn Statement. All UK aid continues to be spent in line with the international rules on what constitutes ODA set by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee. Provisional and final official UK ODA spend data for 2022 will be published as normal in the Spring and Autumn of 2023 respectively.

East Africa: Food Supply

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to provide relief support to help alleviate the hunger crisis in East Africa.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In financial year 2022/23 the UK intends to provide approximately £156 million in humanitarian aid across East Africa. Our support is providing millions of people with essential services and supplies including food, water and healthcare.

Iran: Sanctions

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will introduce new sanctions on Iran to prevent the import of spares and parts used in the manufacture of drones used for attacks against (a) Ukraine, (b) Israel and (c) international shipping.

David Rutley: Iran's support for the Russian military campaign in Ukraine is deplorable, and the supply of drones is in violation of UN Security Council resolution 2231. Iran is profiting from Russia's attacks on Ukrainian citizens, causing human suffering and the destruction of critical infrastructure. On 20 October, the UK introduced a sanctions package that targets Iranian individuals and business responsible for supplying Russia with drones. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. A full list is available on the UK Sanctions List.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-sanctions-on-iran-relating-to-human-rights

Haitham Hani Mohammad Mubarak and Odai Trad Hisham Salah

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on holding independent investigations into the use of live ammunition and killing of (a) Haitham Hani Mohammad Mubarak on 8 September and (b) Odai Trad Hisham Salah on 15 September 2022.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on holding an independent investigation into the death during a military activity carried out by Israeli forces of Rayyan Suleiman in Bethlehem on 29 September 2022.

David Rutley: We regularly raise the issue of the numbers of Palestinians killed and injured by Israeli Defence Forces in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli authorities. We encourage them to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations and, if wrongdoing is found, that those responsible be held to account. We stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.

Israel: Palestinians

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) night-time and (b) daytime Israeli military raids there have been on Palestinian homes in the West Bank in 2022.

David Rutley: While we recognise Israel's legitimate need to deploy security measures, we encourage them to deploy these in a way that minimises tension. We call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and we have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. We stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population.

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Employment

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support defence jobs in all regions of the UK.

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support defence jobs in all regions of the UK.

Alex Chalk: The most recent estimate shows Ministry of Defence investment supports 219,000 jobs in industries across the UK. Continued high, and focussed, investment in defence, along with the changes we continue to make as part of our Defence and Security Industrial Strategy, will contribute to further economic growth and prosperity, including jobs, across the Union.

Helicopters: RNAS Culdrose

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many unserviceable EH101 helicopters are with Leonardo at RNAS Culdrose.

Alex Chalk: As part of the Integrated Merlin Operational Support contract, Leonardo is currently working on nine unserviceable Merlin helicopters at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose. Of these, eight helicopters are either undergoing or being prepared for their scheduled Depth maintenance packages, and one helicopter is undergoing a planned modification package.

Veterans: Compensation

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help support veterans who have applied for compensation through the (a) War Pensions and (b) Armed Forces Compensation schemes.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I would like to assure you that the Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring that both the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pension Scheme deliver for those who make a claim. The Veterans Welfare Service has Welfare Managers throughout the UK and one of its specific roles is to support veterans with the completion of claims for both the Schemes. Additionally, as part of the £40 million transformation project, work is being undertaken to improve the customer experience and make the process easier for veterans to submit their claims.

Warships: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy that ships for the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary classed as warships are required to be built in the UK.

Alex Chalk: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) set out its shipbuilding policy in the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy, which stated that the procurement approach for each class of ship will be determined on a case-by-case basis. As well as considering the specific capability requirements, the MOD will consider the long-term industrial impact of different options, including delivering value for money for the overall programme and maintaining the key UK industrial capabilities required for operational independence. All Royal Navy ships and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries are operated by the UK in support of our national defence and security requirements and it is entirely logical to view them as component parts of a broad maritime defence capability.This policy was restated in the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, which also set out that we will use social value to maximise opportunities for UK suppliers wherever procurement law and international obligations allow. For MOD shipbuilding competitions, a minimum 20% weighting for social value will be applied.

Elbit Systems UK: Navy

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons Elbit Systems UK Ltd was removed from the delivery of the Project Selborne contract.

Alex Chalk: Negotiations are currently underway regarding Elbit Systems UK's departure from Project Selborne, therefore I am unable to comment further due to commercial sensitivities.

Supply Chains: Security

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his answers to the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee on 1 November 2022, what work his Department is carrying out on supply chain security.

Alex Chalk: We are working jointly with our suppliers through the Defence Suppliers Forum to understand supply-chain risks and fragility in order to safeguard all critical defence outputs, and work is underway to provide industry with a clear requirement supporting defence priorities.

Ajax Vehicles: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 18 October to Question 61036 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement and with reference to his answers to the Defence Select Committee on 2 November 2022, whether he still expects to be in a position to consider the way forward for the Ajax programme by the end of the year.

Alex Chalk: Yes. We have made progress on the programme and are now analysing the results of the User Validation Trials that resumed last month. These trials will help the Department establish the effectiveness of the modifications proposed by General Dynamics to address the noise and vibration concerns on Ajax and, should they prove satisfactory, we will be able to ensure delivery of a safe system of work under which to conduct Reliability Growth Trials.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 25 May to Question 8959 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many complaints his Department received on UK Service Family Accommodation in each region since January 2021.

Alex Chalk: The table below shows the number of complaints received which relate to UK Service Family Accommodation in each region since 1 January 2021 - 1 November 2022:  UK RegionComplaints Received 1 January 2021 – 1 November 2022Central1,517North633South East2,620South West2,984Not Allocated*561TOTAL8,315*complaints received that could not be identified by the complaint’s region.

Military Aircraft: Republic of Ireland

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is on UK military aircraft entering the airspace of the Republic of Ireland for operational purposes.

James Heappey: UK Military aircraft do not enter the sovereign airspace of Ireland for operational purposes, without the express prior agreement of the Irish Government. The RAF polices the UK Flight Information Region (FIR) on behalf of NATO and the international community and would only enter foreign national airspace when authorised to do so. Questions on sovereign airspace access and associated regulations are for individual nations to answer, therefore any questions on Irish airspace should be directed to the Irish Government.

Development Aid

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department’s expenditure in (a) Ukraine and (b) other countries will be classified as Official Development Assistance in this financial year.

James Heappey: To date the Department has not classified any expenditure in Ukraine or other countries as Official Development Assistance in this financial year.

Ministry of Defence: ICT

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether officials in his Department have raised with him any concerns about use by him of personal electronic devices for official business.

Mr Ben Wallace: It is Government policy not to comment on individual Ministers' security discussions. Ministers receive support and expert advice to help them meet their obligations in the most appropriate and secure fashion. That includes regular advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.

HMS Prince of Wales: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his latest estimate is of (a) timings and (b) costs for the completion of the current repair work on the propulsion system of HMS Prince of Wales.

Alex Chalk: Timelines and estimated costs for the repairs to HMS PRINCE OF WALES have not yet been determined as investigations to establish the extent of the work required are still ongoing.

F-35 Aircraft: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the fuselages for the UK's F-35b aircraft were paid for in US dollars.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the lift fan in the UK's F-35b aircraft was paid for in US dollars.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the ejector seat in the UK's F-35b aircraft was paid for in US dollars.

Alex Chalk: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor on 19 October 2022 to Question 62718.F-35 Aircraft: Components (docx, 16.5KB)

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution by the Foreign Secretary on 31 October, Official Report column 626, what action his Department has taken to stimulate the supply chain for critical and military equipment.

Alex Chalk: We are working jointly with our suppliers through the Defence Suppliers Forum to understand supply-chain risks and fragility in order to safeguard all critical defence outputs, and work is underway to provide industry with a clear requirement supporting defence priorities.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of whether Pinnacle is providing an adequate service to service families.

Alex Chalk: Pinnacle are the National Service Centre (NSC) for Amey and Vivo, delivering accommodation maintenance services to service personnel and their families living in Service Family Accommodation.All suppliers' performance, including Pinnacle, remains significantly below the required standard seven months after the contracts entered service. For Pinnacle, performance is of particular concern as their call and email response times at the NSC and timescales for resolving complaints and compensation requests are significantly below acceptable levels.In September 2022, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation directed all three Accommodation suppliers, including Pinnacle, to submit Rectification Plans. The objective being to demonstrate rapid early improvement and to be at or close to the Acceptable Level of Performance by the end of 2022. In response to this, Pinnacle have invested additional resource and processes to improve performance.

Defence: Expenditure

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the UK spends on defence as a proportion of GDP.

Alex Chalk: UK defence spending is currently projected to reach 2.3% of GDP this year.

Military Aircraft: Standards

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October to Question 63937 on Military Aircraft: Standards, what the target number of task lines is of the air mobility fleet, including the (a) C-137, (b) C-130J and (c) A400M.

Alex Chalk: Figures for the average daily number of tasks planned for the Globemaster C-17, Hercules C-130J and Atlas A400M broken down by month for the period March 2021 to September 2022 are provided in the table below: Average Daily Planned Task Lines MonthC-17C-130JA400M March 20214.006.527.26April 20214.005.777.37May 20214.004.268.00June 20214.007.107.00July 20214.006.557.00August 20214.006.297.00September 20212.676.907.00October 20213.616.587.00November 20214.006.637.00December 20214.005.457.00January 20224.005.657.00February 20224.006.547.00March 20224.006.197.00April 20224.004.877.00May 20223.296.398.00June 20223.836.438.00July 20224.006.298.00August 20223.846.458.00September 20223.706.408.00

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October to Question 66899 on Armed Forces: Housing, what proportion of Service Personnel lived in each grade of Permanent Single Service Living Accommodation in each of the last five years.

Alex Chalk: The table below shows the breakdown of Permanent Single Living Accommodation (SLA) occupied by Service Personnel across the last five calendar years.Calendar YearPermanent SLA Occupied20182019202020212022 to dateGrade 135%33%27%22%21%Grade 230%34%36%36%37%Grade 320%22%20%19%17%Grade 4 and below43%45%46%46%43%*Other6%7%6%6%7%Grand Total100%100%100%100%100%

Armed Forces: Training

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to identify and contact ex-service personnel training foreign militaries abroad without the consent of his Department.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) cannot comment on individual cases, however where personnel have been tempted by the offer, the Department have conveyed disapproval of this activity and strongly dissuaded current or former Serving personnel from engaging with it. MOD has reminded personnel of their obligations under the Official secrets Act and are reviewing Service leaver procedures to include contractual obligations, Non Disclosure Agreements and 'Persona Non Grata' mechanisms where appropriate. The National Security Bill, currently before Parliament, will bring together vital new measures to protect the UK, modernising counter espionage laws and addressing the ever-evolving threat to our national security.

China: Armed Forces

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department plans to take with respect to former RAF pilots who have helped to train the People’s Republic of China’s military personnel.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) are taking a range of measures to dissuade current and former UK pilots from being recruited.The Department is issuing threat guidance to personnel at risk of being approached and are reminding personnel of their obligations to protect sensitive information acquired during their tenure as crown or civil servants and will be looking at options to tighten the contractual obligations of Service leavers and are also encouraging the reporting of any recruitment activity targeting pilots or any other specialist area of Defence. The alert has been issued to relevant personnel across Defence, including to partners in Defence industry. MOD are also actively sharing information with key allies.The MOD has no evidence that anyone has breached the high threshold of the Officials Secrets Act (OSA), but if any evidence were to be forthcoming, we would not hesitate to bring criminal charges. The Department takes this matter extremely seriously and are actively taking measures to deter future recruitment as well as engaging with the individuals already involved to ensure they are fully aware of the risk of prosecution under the OSA.The Government's National Security Bill (led by the Home Office) will capture a range of relevant activity and provide additional possible routes to prosecution. A review of the use of confidentiality agreements is being conducted across Defence, with the aim of providing additional contractual levers to prevent individuals breaching security.

Military Aircraft: Training

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average time is between completing multi-engine flying training and beginning the (a) Voyager, (b) C-17 and (c) Atlas operational conversion course.

James Heappey: Voyager 47 weeks; C17 48 weeks and Atlas 46 weeks.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the plan of action to support Ukraine into 2023 will be formalised.

James Heappey: The UK Government is resolutely committed to continuing its support to Ukraine in 2023.A key element of the Government's response to Ukraine is being agile in our support as the conflict changes. Strands of work are constantly assessed to deliver this goal, with plans and priorities changing accordingly.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to provide Ukraine with (a) military, (b) economic, (c) diplomatic and (d) humanitarian support in 2023.

James Heappey: The UK Government remains committed to supporting Ukraine to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in 2023, by continuing to provide military, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian support. As you will be aware, the Foreign Office lead on the latter three of these.The Government has set aside £2.3 billion in military support for Ukraine in Financial Year 2022-23 and is currently planning to deliver a similar level of military support to Ukraine in 2023.

AWACS: Crew

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2022 to Question 65600 on AWACS: Crew, what the composition of the ten mission crew will be for the Wedgetail.

James Heappey: The planned composition of the ten mission crew is as follows: Mission Commander, System Manager, Information Manager, Electronic Support Measures Operator, a Senior Surveillance and Control Officer, and five Surveillance and Control Officers. The crew positions are agile and can be changed to suit the mission profile.

Ukraine: International Assistance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to publish a plan of action for the UK and its allies to support Ukraine into 2023 and beyond.

James Heappey: The UK Government is resolutely committed to continuing its support to Ukraine into 2023 and beyond.A key element of the Government's response to Ukraine is being agile in our support as the conflict changes. Strands of work are constantly assessed to deliver this goal, with plans and priorities changing accordingly.

China: Armed Forces

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to take steps to amend the National Security Bill to help tackle potential threats to national security arising from former Army Air Corps, Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force personnel being recruited by the People’s Liberation Army.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence has worked closely with the Home Office and the whole of Government on the development of the National Security Bill, currently before Parliament. This Bill will keep pace with this and the wider changing threat.The Bill makes the UK an even harder target for any states seeking to conduct hostile acts against the UK, steal our information for their advantage, or interfere in our society covertly. It brings together vital new measures to protect the UK, modernising counter espionage laws and addressing the ever-evolving threat to our national security.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department are responsible for the processing of applications to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy.

James Heappey: As of 1 November, there are 108 members of staff assigned to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy team. This includes both civilian and military staff in the UK and overseas as well as a small number of contractors providing specialist services e.g. interpreters and cultural advisors.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy have been successful.

James Heappey: As of 3 November, over 11,600 eligible individuals (including their family members) have been successfully relocated to the UK under the ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) scheme. This number includes 5,000 ARAP eligible individuals (including their family members) who were relocated during OP PITTING.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have applied to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy since its launch.

James Heappey: There have been 127,795 applications to the ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) scheme since the scheme began on 1 April 2021. Of these, a significant portion are duplicates.

China: Armed Forces

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any Chinese personnel have attended training courses at (a) the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, (b) Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, (c) Britannia Royal Naval College, (d) Royal Air College Cranwell and (e) other training establishments of the armed forces in the last five years.

James Heappey: Chinese personnel attended the following courses at UK Armed Forces training establishments in the last five years: YearEstablishmentCourse Title Number of Students2019-20Defence AcademyRoyal College of Defence Studies12019All Arms Drill Wing PirbrightAll Arms Basic Drill Instructor Course22019All Arms Drill Wing PirbrightAll Arms Advanced Drill Instructor Course22019Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search Training RegimentInternational Explosive Ordnance Disposal Maritime Course12018-19RAF CranwellInitial Officer Training12018-19Defence AcademyRoyal College of Defence Studies22018All Arms Drill Wing PirbrightAll Arms Advanced Drill Instructor Course12018Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search Training RegimentInternational Search Adviser Course12017-18Defence AcademyRoyal College of Defence Studies22017-18RAF CranwellAircrew Instructors Course82017RAF CranwellAircrew Instructors Course22017All Arms Drill Wing PirbrightAll Arms Basic Drill Instructor Course32016-17Defence AcademyRoyal College of Defence Studies22016-17Royal Military Academy SandhurstInitial Officer Training22016-17Defence AcademyAdvanced Command and Staff Course1 No sensitive information was included within any of this training. No training has been provided to Chinese personnel after this period, either in the UK or in the People’s Republic of China.

China: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) Air Force training staff have visited China to provide training in each of the past 10 years.

James Heappey: UK Service personnel have provided the following training in the People’s Republic of China: Financial YearTraining 2014-15Aviation English Training programme - Multi-Engine2014-15Aviation English Training programme - Fast Jet2014-15Delivery of lecture at People’s Liberation Army No 4 Medical University by Army Medical Officers2015-16Military Aviation Language Training2016-17Aviation English Language Training2016-17Delivery of brief to UN Female Military Officers' Course on UN Peacekeeping at PLA Peacekeeping Training Centre2016-17Foot drill instruction for the Hong Kong Police2017-18RAF Mountain Rescue Service provision of a biennial standards check and specialist mountain training for the Hong Kong Civil Aid Service2019-20RAF Mountain Rescue Service provision of a biennial standards check and specialist mountain training for the Hong Kong Civil Aid Service This training was provided to embed normative standards of safety, security and of legally compliant behaviours in leadership; aviation; civil aid; and gender diversity. No sensitive information was included within any of this training. No training has been provided to the People’s Liberation Army after this period, either in the UK or in the People’s Republic of China.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants aged under-25 have received an affordability assessment before a sanction has been issued, both as a total number and as a proportion of all sanctions issued to this age group, in the most recent month for which data is available.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Personal Independence Payment: Cost of Living Payments

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of cost of living payments have been paid to people receiving Personal Independence Payment; and how many of those payments are outstanding.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Universal Credit: Deductions

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claims were subject to deductions in the most recent month for which data is available, broken down by parliamentary constituency; how much was the (a) total and (b) average sum of deductions in each constituency; and what proportion of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Work and Pensions: Public Consultation

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) consultations and (b) calls for evidence issued by his Department are closed but have not been responded to as of 12 July 2022.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Universal Credit: Cost of Living Payments

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants on a non-monthly earning cycle missed out on each of the first and second Cost of Living Payment instalments due to receiving a nil Universal Credit award as a result of higher earnings than usual during the qualifying assessment period.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken modelling of the expected impact of raising the administrative earnings threshold on levels of sanctions imposed on Universal credit claimants.

Guy Opperman: All requirements are set following discussion with the claimant, tailored to their capability and circumstances, making them realistic and achievable. They take account of health, caring responsibilities, ongoing work or volunteering and any earnings.  It is not possible to do modelling for the claimants who have been affected by the changes to the Administrative Earnings Threshold. This is because we cannot determine in advance if a claimant does not meet their requirements.  People are only sanctioned if they fail to meet their agreed requirements without good reason.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the correspondence from the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to the Chair of the Work and Pensions select committee of 15 July 2022, for what reasons he will not publish the report by his Department on the impact of benefit sanctions on claimants moving into employment.

Guy Opperman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the previous Minister to Question UIN 53458

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to postpone deduction payments on social security for disabled people in response to increases in the cost of living.

Guy Opperman: There are currently no plans.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to uprate social security payments for disabled people above the level of inflation to help cover additional expenditure they may incur with the cost of heating.

Guy Opperman: The Secretary of State is conducting his statutory annual review of State Pension and benefit rates including rates for disability benefits. The outcome of the review will be announced shortly. The government understands the pressures people, including disabled people, are facing with the cost of living and has taken further, decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear it will continue to do so from now until April next year. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost-of-living support announced earlier this year which includes: the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme;a Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 to six million people who are receiving additional-needs disability benefits, in recognition of the extra costs they face, including with energy costs;up to £650 in cost-of-living payments (paid in two separate payments of £326 and £324) for the eight million households in receipt of a means-tested benefit, including those with a disability;a one-off payment of £300 through the Winter Fuel Payment from November to pensioner households, including those with disability or care needs.a £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills which was paid to all households in Bands A-D in England earlier this year.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to uprate benefits in line with inflation.

Guy Opperman: The Secretary of State is conducting his statutory annual review of State Pension and benefit rates. The outcome of the review will be announced shortly.

Universal Credit: Earnings Limits

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her letter to all hon. Members on 6 October 2022 entitled Changes to Universal Credit Administrative Earnings Threshold Level, whether those changes apply to all parts of the UK.

Guy Opperman: The changes to the Universal Credit Administrative Earnings Threshold as referred to in the letter of 6 October 2022 apply to the whole of the UK. The Universal Credit (Administrative Earnings Threshold) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 and the Universal Credit (Administrative Earnings Threshold) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 both came into force on 26th September 2022 to ensure that the changes applied to Northern Ireland as well as Great Britain.

Social Security Benefits: Homelessness

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made on the potential effect of raising the benefit cap on the prevention of homelessness.

Guy Opperman: No assessment has been made.

Social Security Benefits

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward the next review of the level of the benefit cap in the context of the rising cost of living.

Guy Opperman: Under section 96A of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, the Secretary of State must, at least once every five years review the benefit cap levels to determine, whether it is appropriate to change them, and this will happen at the appropriate time.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants aged under 25 have had their sanction overturned as a result of a mandatory reconsideration, both as a total number and as a proportion of all mandatory reconsiderations for this age group, in the most recent month for which data is available.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Politics and Government: Disability

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of making the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State responsible for disabled people on the representation of disabled people in Government.

Tom Pursglove: I can confirm that I have been appointed as Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work. This role has always been, and remains, an important ministerial post. A summary of my responsibilities can be found here: GOV.UK. My responsibilities put disability policy and disabled people at the heart of what this Government wants to achieve. I will continue to work closely with the Secretary of State to ensure this work remains a central pillar in the department’s mission, to improve outcomes for disabled people.

Department for Work and Pensions: Email

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any Minister in his Department has sent Departmental information from their personal email addresses since December 2019.

Mims Davies: The Cabinet Office has published guidance to departments on the use of private email that covers how information is held for the purposes of access to information, and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. This guidance is being updated to reflect changes in technology and ways of working, and will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course. It is Government policy not to comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements. Ministers receive support and expert advice to help them meet their obligations in the most appropriate and secure fashion. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.

Employment: Menopause

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to help tackle the number of working days lost due to (a) menopause and (b) perimenopause.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people experiencing menopause are supported to (a) remain in and (b) re-enter the workforce.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking to help (a) reduce workplace discrimination relating to menopause and (b) reduce the number of women leaving the workforce due to negative experiences in the workplace relating to the menopause.

Mims Davies: It is important that those who experience substantial and longer-term menopausal effects should be adequately protected from discrimination in the workplace, and that employers are fully aware of the challenges and their current legal obligations, including under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act). Depending on circumstances, the Act provides protection from discrimination on grounds of sex and/or age and/or disability for employees experiencing the effects of the menopause. With women over 50 representing the fastest growing segment of the workforce, there are few workplaces where the menopause is not being experienced by staff. In July 2021 The Minister for Employment commissioned the roundtable on older workers to look at the menopause and employment. An independent menopause and the workplace report was published and the Government’s response was outlined in July. Alongside this, the Women’s Health Strategy sets out a range of commitments including encouraging employers to implement evidence-based workplace support and introduce workplace menopause policies.

General Practitioners: Fees and Charges

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect on disabled people's ability to access benefits of the practice of GPs charging fees to individuals with disabilities who request medical letters.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions officials in his Department have had with officials in the Department for Health and Social Care on GPs charging fees to individuals with disabilities who require medical letters in order to access benefits.

Tom Pursglove: We do not require claimants to seek medical evidence or letters from their GP. If medical evidence is required from a claimant’s GP, the DWP will request it directly. GPs are able to charge for letters and reports if claimants request them directly, as this is activity they are not contractually required to undertake.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessments were carried out (a) face-to-face, (b) remotely and (c) on paper in each month since 1 January 2022.

Tom Pursglove: The number and proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments carried out (a) face to face, (b) remotely, including telephone and video, and c) paper based, can be found in the tables below. For the months from January to September 2022 (the latest month that figures are available for) the number of assessments per channel are:MonthRemotePaper-BasedFace-to-FaceJan-2261,30012,17090Feb-2258,07013,1703,150Mar-2263,23015,0506,390Apr-2253,58012,9505,100May-2263,74013,7105,700Jun-2258,68013,7905,530Jul-2259,43014,3805,350Aug-2262,86014,9105,950Sep-2262,53015,5406,440With channel proportion as: MonthRemotePaper-BasedFace-to-FaceJan-2283.3%16.5%0.1%Feb-2278.1%17.7%4.2%Mar-2274.7%17.8%7.5%Apr-2274.8%18.1%7.1%May-2276.7%16.5%6.9%Jun-2275.2%17.7%7.1%Jul-2275.1%18.2%6.8%Aug-2275.1%17.8%7.1%Sep-2274.0%18.4%7.6% Please Note: All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 10;Percentages may not always total 100% due to rounding;Proportions are based on actual values and may not add up due to rounding;All of the above data is derived from management information produced by the assessment providers;The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

Universal Credit: Fraud

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much in total his Department has spent on the Enhanced Checking Service since April 2020; and how much in total his Department has recovered in fraudulently claimed welfare benefits as a result of the Enhanced Checking Service.

Tom Pursglove: The Enhanced Checking Service (ECS) was introduced in April 2020 to support Universal Credit colleagues who were observing potentially fraudulent claims from people looking to exploit the easements implemented to support customers during the Covid pandemic. ECS now operates as part of DWP’s Counter Fraud, Compliance & Debt (CFCD) ‘Disrupt’ function, whose workload is primarily driven by potential threats identified by DWP’s Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service. ECS costs cannot be separated from the costs of the wider Disrupt teams, which in 2021/22 (the last full year for which data is available) were £19.7 million. This figure includes staffing, management, and training costs. No cost information is available in relation to the ECS team for the 2020/21 financial year. This is because ECS funding was part of the wider CFCD budget during this period and cannot be meaningfully separated out. Whilst recovery of benefit overpayments resulting from fraud cannot be attributed to the work of individual teams, I can confirm that in 2021/22, our Disrupt teams actioned 485,000 cases, with an estimated saving of £671 million in potential losses through fraud.

Employment: Disability

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Improving lives: the future of work, health and disability policy paper published on 30 November 2017, what progress his Department has made on ensuring individuals can access personalised and tailored employment support as outlined in that report.

Tom Pursglove: In 2017, the Government set a goal to see a million more disabled people in employment between 2017 and 2027. The latest figures released for Q1 2022 show that between Q1 2017 and Q1 2022, the number of disabled people in employment increased by 1.3m – meaning the goal has been met after only five years. We reiterated our ambition to improve employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions in Shaping Future Support: the Health and Disability Green Paper. Earlier this year, we introduced additional Work Coach support nationally to provide personalised support for people with health conditions and disabilities on Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance. This tailored support from Work Coaches will open-up access for disabled people to employment and skills support, and wider provision. This trial of additional support is already available to eligible claimants in one-third of Jobcentres and will rollout wider from 2023. This new Work Coach support is for claimants currently awaiting their Work Capability Assessment, and for claimants following their Work Capability Assessment who have been found to have limited capability for work or work-related activity, but that want help to move into the labour market over time. This support builds on learning from previous trials, including the Personal Support Package. Alongside this, DWP continues to offer other personalised provision and tailored support through the Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support. The Work and Health Programme has delivered personalised support for 220,000 unemployed and inactive people including 170,000 disabled people. We have extended referrals on the programme so that Work Coaches can continue to refer suitable claimants until September 2024. This extension will provide additional support for around 100,000 more mostly disabled people. IPES is voluntary provision for unemployed and inactive disabled people with complex barriers to employment, who are motivated to work, but are more than twelve months from the labour market without intensive support. IPES was launched in England and Wales in December 2019 and will provide support for 11,000 disabled people by December 2023.

Access to Work Programme

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October to Question 65709 on Access to Work Programme, how many times his Department has met what stakeholder groups.

Tom Pursglove: The Access to Work stakeholder forums are run and delivered by stakeholders with DWP policy and service delivery teams attending on average 3 times per year. In addition, we meet other stakeholder groups and provide contributions for DWP Operational Stakeholder Engagement Forum on an ad-hoc basis. It is not possible to quantify the numbers of stakeholder engagements. The department does not hold historic data on the overall number of meetings with stakeholder groups.

State Retirement Pensions: West Yorkshire

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are eligible for the state pension in (a) Morley and Outwood constituency and (b) West Yorkshire.

Laura Trott: In the quarter ending February 2022 the State Pension caseload in Morley and Outwood constituency was 17,826. In the quarter ending February 2022 the State Pension caseload in the following Local Authorities was:Bradford77,153Calderdale37,118Kirklees72,053Leeds118,932Wakefield62,935 Source: DWP benefits statistics: August 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) These figures do not include people who are deferring their State Pension.

Pension Funds

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of money in lost pension funds.

Laura Trott: The Department does not hold this information.

Occupational Health: Long Covid

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to lay the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council command paper concerning Long Covid and occupation before Parliament.

Tom Pursglove: The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, in its independent advisory capacity to the DWP on Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, has prepared a Command Paper - COVID-19 and Occupational Impacts. The paper has been submitted to the department for consideration and will be published as soon as practicable.

Industrial Injuries Advisory Council

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which Minister holds responsibility for the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council.

Tom Pursglove: The responsibility for the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council is with the Department for Work and Pensions, Minister of State, Tom Pursglove MP.

Joint Work and Health Unit: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the budget of the Work and Health Unit was in each of the last five years; and what proportion of that budget was allocated from funds for his Department.

Tom Pursglove: Work and Health Unit Programme Budgets for the last 5 years:   DWP £mDHSC £mNHSE/I £mTotal £mDWP %18/1929.67.52.539.675%19/2035.66.25-41.8585%20/2134.07.3-41.382%21/2246.47.8-54.286%22/2356.47.8-64.288%

Employment: Disability

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Improving lives: the future of work, health and disability policy paper published on 30 November 2017, what progress his Department has made on continuing to build the capacity of Jobcentre Plus work coaches to deliver tailored support as outlined in that report.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Improving lives: the future of work, health and disability policy paper published on 30 November 2017, what progress his Department has made on building positive relationships with customers as outlined in that paper.

Tom Pursglove: Since 2017, we have been continuing to build the capability of Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches to deliver tailored support and to build positive relationships with our customers. All of our Work Coaches undergo comprehensive learning to support customers with additional or complex needs, and they continue to build on this in the workplace through accessing point of need learning products. The learning provides Work Coaches with the knowledge and skills needed to enable them to:treat each claimant as an individual;support them with their health condition and the impacts of their condition;help overcome any barriers;support them into moving closer to the working environment.We have also delivered training to all our Work Coaches so they can acquire a better understanding of mental health. Work Coaches are supported by Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) who provide expert knowledge on how to support disabled customers. DEAs are currently upskilling our Work Coaches on the Health Adjustment Passport, and on how to use tailoring up approaches to better support disabled people claiming benefits, in addition to their other roles and responsibilities. Every Work Coach in England, Scotland and Wales has access to a Disability Employment Adviser.

Winter Fuel Payment: British Nationals Abroad

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on Winter Fuel Payments to those who move to Australia; and whether the Government plans to review the list of eligible countries for that payment.

Laura Trott: Winter fuel payments are not payable in Australia. There are no plans to review this policy.

State Retirement Pensions

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to maintain the pensions triple lock.

Laura Trott: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is currently conducting his statutory annual review of State Pension and benefit rates. We cannot pre-empt the outcome of that review, which will be announced in due course.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sewage: Pollution Control

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency on sewage discharge and the accountability of water companies.

Rebecca Pow: I have regular discussions with the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency and tackling sewage discharges is one of my key priorities. HM Government is taking steps to prioritise water company action on sewage overflows. We have launched the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, that introduced strict targets on sewage pollution requiring water companies to deliver their largest ever environment infrastructure investment - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years. Our Plan will eliminate ecological harm from all sewage discharges and it will protect the ecology of our rivers and seas, and the public health of our water users for generations to come.The Environment Agency and Ofwat have recently launched the largest criminal and civil investigations into water company sewage discharges ever, at over 2200 treatment works, following new data coming to light as a result of increased monitoring.  Since 2015, the Environment Agency has brought 54 prosecutions against water companies, securing fines of almost £140 million. We have also recently announced that we will bring forward plans to increase the amount the Environment Agency can directly fine water companies who pollute the environment by 1000-fold, from £250,000 up to £250million.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Recruitment

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department spent on external recruitment consultants in 2021.

Mark Spencer: The Defra SCS recruitment spend (Executive Search) for calendar year 2021 was £43,275.

Environment Agency: Standards

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she had made of the performance of the Environment Agency in achieving its objectives set by the EA2025 corporate plan.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency publishes its corporate scorecard on a quarterly basis, assessing its performance against the EA2025 corporate plan. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/environment-agency-corporate-scorecard Defra also regularly assesses the Environment Agency’s performance across key priorities in Quarterly and Ministerial Performance Reviews. These reviews enable joint discussion of progress against priorities and any risks, challenges and opportunities that may emerge during the year. Defra ministers regularly meet with the Environment Agency leadership to discuss performance and delivery of departmental priorities.

Drugs: Packaging

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision for the recycling of medicine blister packets.

Rebecca Pow: HM Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. We want all local waste authorities in England to collect the same core set of materials for recycling, including plastics. Our approach is focused on increasing both the supply of materials for recycling and demand for secondary materials to be used in the manufacture of new products and packaging. Blister packs are difficult to recycle due to the mix of different materials they are made from and, as such, tend not to be collected through kerbside recycling services. There are currently no plans to specifically increase the provision for the recycling of medical blister packs. However, the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging will place financial responsibility on businesses for the cost of managing packaging waste generated by households, including medical blister packets. This provides a strong financial incentive for businesses to make better, more sustainable decisions in their design and use of packaging, and to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of the packaging they use.

Recycling: Labelling

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to establish a single, mandatory recycling labelling scheme.

Rebecca Pow: In the response to the 2021 consultation on Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, HM Government set out its intention to introduce mandatory recyclability labelling on all product packaging. Producers will be required to label packaging to indicate whether it is recyclable or not. To provide consumers with clear and consistent information to help them to recycle correctly, there will be a single approach to labelling packaging across the UK. This will reduce confusion over what can be recycled which will increase recycling rates and reduce contamination in recycling waste streams. The requirement to label packaging will be introduced as part of new UK-wide packaging regulations that are expected to enter into force late in 2023.

Air Pollution: Babies

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has discussed with Cabinet colleagues the impact of toxic air pollution particles on the lungs, livers and brains of unborn babies.

Rebecca Pow: This specific issue has not been discussed during the Secretary of State’s initial discussions with Cabinet colleagues. HM Government recognises the importance of protecting people and the environment from the effects of air pollution.

Deposit Return Schemes

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to introduce a deposit return scheme in England.

Rebecca Pow: In its 2019 manifesto, HM Government committed to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers to incentivise people to recycle more and to reduce littering of in-scope containers. HM Government has consulted twice on the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and further details will be set out in the Government response to the 2021 consultation. We are working towards publication of the Government response in late 2022.

Agriculture: Methane

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to support UK farmers to reduce their methane emissions to help ensure the UK agriculture sector can meet the commitments made in the Global Methane Pledge.

Mark Spencer: Our environmental land management schemes will pay farmers for providing public goods, including climate change mitigation. As published in January 2022, we anticipate the collective actions of farmers under our environmental land management scheme agreements, together with our other farming offers such as the Farming Investment Fund, will decarbonise agricultural emissions by a total of up to 6 MtCO2e p.a. in Carbon Budget 6 (2033-37) in England. More broadly HM Government’s Net Zero Strategy sets out our plans to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions, including a range of policies and actions to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions (including methane) from agriculture. Ruminant livestock are the leading cause of agriculture methane emissions. Improvements in productivity have already reduced emissions from the sector, however new technologies and livestock management improvements can help this go further. For example, feed additives with methane inhibiting properties have the potential to directly reduce methane emissions, especially from housed cattle. The United Kingdom and Devolved Governments have launched a call for evidence to better understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of feed products that can reduce methane emissions from livestock, and explore how we can work with farmers and agri-businesses to increase adoption of this technology to support more sustainable protein production.

Pets: Animal Welfare

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of pets abandoned by families as a result of the rising cost of living.

Rebecca Pow: HM Government is concerned about the impact of rising bills on all aspects of people's lives and businesses, including the costs associated with companion animal welfare. Defra remains in close contact with animal welfare organisations and meets them regularly to understand issues that are affecting the sector, including any increase of abandonment rates.Sector groups are closely monitoring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and identifying where more support may be needed. We welcome the support they are providing through pet food banks and financial support with veterinary treatment during these difficult times which is helping to reduce the pressure on pet owners.

Environmental Land Management Schemes

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farm businesses are participating in Environmental Land Management scheme programmes in each (a) constituency, (b) local authority and (c) region of England.

Mark Spencer: There are three new schemes that will reward farmers for their environmental land management; these are the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery schemes. The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the first of the new environmental land management schemes to open for applications. As of 18th October 2022, over 4,450 farmers had started their applications, of which 1,980 had been submitted to the Rural Payments Agency. This figure includes applications received for both the pilot scheme launched in 2021 and early rollout of the scheme in June 2022. The following number of farm businesses in the associated regions have submitted an application to the Rural Payments Agency. REGIONNomenclature of Territorial Units for StatisticsPARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCYTotalEast Midlands (England)   225 DerbyMid Derbyshire1East DerbyshireBolsover3North East Derbyshire5Leicestershire CC and RutlandBosworth9Charnwood2Harborough1Loughborough1North West Leicestershire6Rutland and Melton24South Leicestershire5LincolnshireBoston and Skegness5Gainsborough16Grantham and Stamford15Lincoln1Louth and Horncastle16Sleaford and North Hykeham17South Holland and The Deepings7North NorthamptonshireCorby3Daventry1Kettering2Wellingborough2North NottinghamshireAshfield2Bassetlaw2Mansfield3Newark3Sherwood4South and West DerbyshireAmber Valley2Derbyshire Dales19High Peak11Mid Derbyshire2South Derbyshire3South NottinghamshireBroxtowe2Newark3Rushcliffe4West NorthamptonshireDaventry15South Northamptonshire8East of England265BedfordMid Bedfordshire1North East Bedfordshire4Breckland and South NorfolkMid Norfolk10South Norfolk10South West Norfolk4Cambridgeshire CCCambridge1Huntingdon3North East Cambridgeshire10North West Cambridgeshire12South Cambridgeshire13South East Cambridgeshire11Central BedfordshireMid Bedfordshire4North East Bedfordshire2Essex Haven GatewayBraintree10Clacton1Harwich and North Essex9Witham2Essex Thames GatewayBasildon and Billericay2Rochford and Southend East1Heart of EssexChelmsford1Maldon1Saffron Walden3HertfordshireHemel Hempstead1Hertford and Stortford4Hertsmere3Hitchin and Harpenden2North East Hertfordshire8St Albans1Welwyn Hatfield1North and West NorfolkBroadland3North Norfolk13North West Norfolk7South West Norfolk6Norwich and East NorfolkBroadland8Great Yarmouth2Norwich South2PeterboroughPeterborough1SuffolkBury St Edmunds9Central Suffolk and North Ipswich20South Suffolk11Suffolk Coastal9Waveney4West Suffolk12ThurrockSouth Basildon and East Thurrock1West EssexBrentwood and Ongar1Epping Forest2Harlow2Saffron Walden17London18Barking & Dagenham and HaveringHornchurch and Upminster1BarnetHendon1Camden and City of LondonHolborn and St Pancras1EnfieldEnfield North1Haringey and IslingtonHornsey and Wood Green1Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & FulhamHammersmith1Kensington2LambethStreatham1Merton, Kingston upon Thames and SuttonKingston and Surbiton4Mitcham and Morden1Wimbledon1Redbridge and Waltham ForestWalthamstow1WandsworthTooting1WestminsterWestminster North1North East (England)142DarlingtonSedgefield3Durham CCBishop Auckland14City of Durham2Easington1North Durham2North West Durham2Sedgefield4Hartlepool and Stockton-on-TeesHartlepool1Stockton South1NorthumberlandBerwick-upon-Tweed73Blaydon1Blyth Valley2Hexham27Wansbeck2South TeessideMiddlesbrough South and East Cleveland1TynesideBlaydon1Newcastle upon Tyne Central2Newcastle upon Tyne East1Newcastle upon Tyne North2North West (England)   204Cheshire EastCongleton3Crewe and Nantwich1Eddisbury3Macclesfield6Tatton1Cheshire West and ChesterCity of Chester1Eddisbury11Weaver Vale2Chorley and West LancashireChorley3South Ribble2West Lancashire7East CumbriaBarrow and Furness4Carlisle2Penrith and The Border47Westmorland and Lonsdale19East LancashireBurnley2Pendle1Rossendale and Darwen2East MerseysideSt Helens North1Greater Manchester North EastBury South1Heywood and Middleton1Greater Manchester North WestBolton West2Wigan4Greater Manchester South EastStalybridge and Hyde3Greater Manchester South WestAltrincham and Sale West1Lancaster and WyreLancaster and Fleetwood19Morecambe and Lunesdale2Wyre and Preston North8Mid LancashireFylde4Ribble Valley10South Ribble1Wyre and Preston North1SeftonSefton Central2WarringtonWarrington South1West CumbriaBarrow and Furness2Copeland13Penrith and The Border1Workington10Scotland 1Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae and Argyll and ButeArgyll and Bute1South East (England)   245BerkshireMaidenhead1Newbury7Windsor2Wokingham2Brighton and HoveBrighton, Pavilion1Buckinghamshire CCAylesbury4Beaconsfield3Buckingham16Chesham and Amersham2Wycombe2Central HampshireEast Hampshire1Meon Valley10New Forest East1New Forest West6North West Hampshire1Romsey and Southampton North7Winchester2East KentCanterbury4Dover2Folkestone and Hythe2South Thanet3East SurreyEast Surrey2Reigate1East Sussex CCBexhill and Battle5Hastings and Rye2Lewes3Wealden10Isle of WightIsle of Wight14Kent Thames GatewayFaversham and Mid Kent3Gravesham1MedwayRochester and Strood2Mid KentAshford14Faversham and Mid Kent5Folkestone and Hythe1Maidstone and The Weald1Milton KeynesMilton Keynes North3North HampshireNorth East Hampshire5North West Hampshire6OxfordshireBanbury10Henley13Wantage6Witney15South HampshireHavant1West KentMaidstone and The Weald3Sevenoaks3Tonbridge and Malling1Tunbridge Wells7West SurreyGuildford4Runnymede and Weybridge1South West Surrey3Woking2West Sussex (North East)Arundel and South Downs1Horsham3Mid Sussex2West Sussex (South West)Arundel and South Downs4Bognor Regis and Littlehampton2Chichester6East Worthing and Shoreham1South West (England)   444Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South GloucestershireNorth East Somerset4North Somerset4Thornbury and Yate5Weston-Super-Mare3Bournemouth and PooleBournemouth West1Cornwall and Isles of ScillyCamborne and Redruth6North Cornwall13South East Cornwall18St Austell and Newquay3St Ives14Truro and Falmouth8Devon CCCentral Devon37East Devon4Exeter1Newton Abbot4North Devon25South West Devon7Tiverton and Honiton28Torridge and West Devon32Totnes12Dorset CCChristchurch1Mid Dorset and North Poole1North Dorset12South Dorset4West Dorset31GloucestershireForest of Dean3Stroud5Tewkesbury3The Cotswolds14PlymouthSouth West Devon1SomersetBridgwater and West Somerset19Somerton and Frome15Taunton Deane16Wells15Yeovil8SwindonSouth Swindon1WiltshireChippenham6Devizes9North Wiltshire13Salisbury20South West Wiltshire18Wales  3PowysBrecon and Radnorshire1Montgomeryshire2West Midlands (England)   196CoventryCoventry North East1DudleyHalesowen and Rowley Regis1Herefordshire, County ofHereford and South Herefordshire16North Herefordshire19Shropshire CCLudlow26North Shropshire21Shrewsbury and Atcham11The Wrekin1SolihullMeriden4Staffordshire CCBurton5Cannock Chase1Lichfield10South Staffordshire5Stafford3Staffordshire Moorlands3Stone15Tamworth2Telford and WrekinThe Wrekin6WalsallAldridge-Brownhills1WarwickshireKenilworth and Southam3North Warwickshire2Nuneaton1Rugby6Stratford-on-Avon12WolverhamptonWolverhampton South East1WorcestershireBromsgrove2Mid Worcestershire5Redditch2West Worcestershire8Wyre Forest3Yorkshire and The Humber   235Barnsley, Doncaster and RotherhamBarnsley East1Don Valley3Doncaster North1Penistone and Stocksbridge3Rother Valley1Wentworth and Dearne1BradfordKeighley3Calderdale and KirkleesCalder Valley3Colne Valley4Dewsbury2East Riding of YorkshireBeverley and Holderness16Brigg and Goole2East Yorkshire20Haltemprice and Howden10LeedsElmet and Rothwell4North and North East LincolnshireBrigg and Goole10Cleethorpes4Scunthorpe2North Yorkshire CCHarrogate and Knaresborough6Richmond (Yorks)32Scarborough and Whitby13Selby and Ainsty11Skipton and Ripon43Thirsk and Malton31SheffieldSheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough1Sheffield, Hallam1WakefieldHemsworth1Wakefield3YorkYork Outer3Unknown   2UnknownUnknown2Grand Total1980

Environmental Land Management Schemes: Reviews

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the outcomes of his recent review of environmental land management schemes.

Mark Spencer: We remain committed to our environmental land management schemes and are looking at how best to deliver the schemes to see where and how improvements can be made. We will continue to work closely with the sector in developing the schemes and publish more information by the end of the year.

Farmers: Mental Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to introduce a grant scheme to help small farmers get online to access mental health support.

Mark Spencer: The final round of the Future Farming Resilience Fund opened on 3rd October and will run until March 2025. The Resilience Fund provides free expert business advice, delivered by third party organisations, to farmers who may need help adapting to the changes during the agricultural transition. One of the key required outcomes for Resilience Fund is that farmers’ mental health and wellbeing are supported where necessary. Some delivery providers are offering this support from in-house experts and others are signposting support available from external expert services. We have worked with the Yellow Wellies charity, to provide advice and information on how to identify potential mental health issues and provide tools for addressing them.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding (a) his Department allocated to and (b) was spent by the (i) Seafood Innovation Fund, (ii) Catchment Sensitive Farming, (iii) Seafood Exports package, (iv) Fisheries and Seafood Scheme, (v) Lump Sum Exit Scheme, (vi) Rural Development Programme for England, (vii) UK Seafood Fund and (viii) Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships scheme in each year since 2010; and how much funding his Department has allocated to each project in each of the next five years.

Mark Spencer: Seafood Innovation Fund The Seafood Innovation Fund (SIF) was announced in 2019 but became part of the Science and Innovation Pillar of the UK Seafood Fund in April 2021 and shares approximately half of the £24 million allocated to that pillar from April 2021 to March 2024 with the precise share to be split depending on demand. The table below shows how much has been spent on SIF since it began, we have excluded spending in 2022-23 from this and the other elements below as we will need to wait until the end of this financial year to confirm how much has been accrued. We will also be adjusting the profile of future spending at the Supplementary Estimates following the extension of the Fund to March 2025.Financial YearSpending (£ms)2019/20£ 2.02020/21£ 4.02021/22£ 3.7  Seafood Exports Package  The Seafood Exports package is a pillar of the UK Seafood Fund and has been allocated £1 million through the UK Seafood Fund to be spent from April 2022 to March 2024. Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships scheme (FISP scheme)  FISP is an element of the UK Seafood Fund and shares the £24 million allocated from April 2021 to March 2024 to the Science and Innovation pillar with SIF. Catchment Sensitive Farming and Rural Development Programme for England Spend under the 2007-13 and 2014-20 Rural Development Programme for England (including the delivery of Catchment Sensitive Farming Advice) is detailed below. We will not have fixed future allocations (or ‘pillars’, as they were known whilst we were in the EU) of money ring fenced to different schemes. Instead, we will learn as we go and find the best ways to manage the overall [FFCP] budget to respond to demand in a way that helps us achieve our intended outcomes. This means we will keep the allocation of funding between different schemes under review over time. Financial YearRDPE Spend (£m)2010-11565.92011-12575.92012-13553.62013-14542.32014-15538.02015-16469.62016-17413.72017-18386.92018-19492.52019-20512.22020-21507.92021-22424.42022-23*97.4*Spend to September 2022  Lump Sum Exit Scheme  We do not have a fixed allocation of money for the Lump Sum Exit Scheme. All eligible applicants will be funded. Payments under the scheme will be in place of the Direct Payments the farmer could otherwise have received between 2022 and 2027 as we phase these payments out. This means the scheme will not increase overall spend on farming. Payments under the scheme are beginning in November 2022 for farmers who have already completed their exit from farming.UK Seafood Fund The Seafood Exports package and Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) scheme are all elements of the UK Seafood Fund. As mentioned above, the SIF became part of the UK Seafood Fund in April 2021. I have provided the future allocation for the Fund as a whole in the response to PQ 73016.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the expected annual (a) resource and (b) capital expenditure will be on the Major Projects Portfolio projects entitled (i) Biosecurity, Borders and Trade Programme, (ii) Science Capability in Animal Health Programme, (iii) Future Farming and Countryside Programme UK Seafood Fund and (iv) Northern Ireland Programme in each financial year of those projects; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.

Mark Spencer: (i) The Biosecurity, Borders and Trade Programme is responsible for the design and delivery of all Defra import controls and export processes. The cost of the programme that has been approved by HM Treasury in September 2021 is an average of £90 million per annum in resource costs (FY 2022/2023 – FY 2024/2025 inclusive), a large proportion of which is the initial operating costs of two BCPs, and digital infrastructure to support traders. Capital expenditure is £57 million in in FY 2022/2023 and reduces significantly to £6 million in FY 2024/2025. HM Government announced a delay to the introduction of full import controls in April 2022 and committed to delivering a new target operating model. This new model will be risk-based and proportionate, minimise the administrative burden on traders and embrace technology. There are a number of options being considered. Once a decision has been made on the final scope of the programme, a fresh business case will be submitted to Treasury setting out the annual cost. (ii) Regarding the Science Capability in Animal Health (SCAH) programme, the budget for this Spending Review is £30 million in FY 2022/2023, £80 million in FY 2023/2024, and £69 million in FY 2024/2025. (iii) Spending for the Future Farming and Countryside Programme will be in line with the manifesto commitment at an average of £2.4 billion/year. (iv) The table below shows the expected resource and capital expenditure for the UK Seafood Fund as agreed at the last Spending Review. We will be adjusting this profile of funding at the Supplementary Estimates to reflect the extension of the Fund to March 2025. Financial YearCapitolResourceTotal 2021/225.65.62022/2322.624.747.32023/2431.415.246.62024/250.30.20.5Total54.345.7100.0   (v) Spending under the Northern Ireland programme is detailed in the table below:Type of Spend*FY 2020-21 £mFY 2021-22 £mFY 2022-23 £mFY 2023-24 £mFY 2024-25 £mTo end SR £mPost SR Annual CostsResource**8.4022.54 29.21 43.9919.41123.68 13.34 to 15.74Capital*** 3.207.797.3718.2814.4551.09 -Total Spend / Forecast11.60 30.33 36.68 62.27 33.86 174.74 13.34 to 15.74 *Includes ringfenced funding by HMT in support of Digital Assistance Scheme (DAS) delivery against the Northern Ireland Agri-Food Scheme Business Case. DAS costs for 2023-24 and beyond mirror the Programme Business Case approved by HMT.**Resource expenditure (RDEL) consists of NI Directorate BAU, Movement Assistance Scheme(MAS) and DAS funding. ***Capital expenditure( CDEL) consists of DAS funding.

Flood Control and Land Drainage: Finance

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding for (a) the Environment Agency and (b) internal drainage boards for (i) maintenance of assets and (ii) maintenance works on rivers and drainage banks; what steps she is taking to ensure that such maintenance work is sufficient to manage flood risk; and if she will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: HM Government continues to fund the maintenance of its flood and coastal erosion risk management assets and the maintenance and conveyance of main rivers in England. These are managed and maintained by the Environment Agency. Our programme of investment maximises the economic benefits and number of properties better protected, in terms of avoiding potential damages from flooding or coastal erosion.The Spending Review 2021 announced an additional £22 million each year from 2022 to 2025 for the Environment Agency to maintain flood defences.HM Government recognises and supports the important role that internal drainage boards (IDBs) play in managing water levels and reducing flood risk in their drainage districts across parts of England. As independent, locally operated statutory public bodies, IDBs and their management boards develop and agree programmes of work each year, which is funded by local beneficiaries. These work programmes cover all their duties, including flood risk, and are developed in close consultation with other risk management authorities, including the Environment Agency. IDBs and the Environment Agency also work closely together through Public Sector Cooperation Agreements, enabling the Environment Agency to make full use of IDBs' local expertise and knowledge.

Flood Defences: Expenditure

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on flood defences since 2019.

Rebecca Pow: Information on HM Government spending on Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCRM) is publicly available: Central Government Funding for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management in England, March 2022. Environment Agency FCRM Capital Programme government spend since 2018/19: 2018/19 £m2019/20 £m2020/21 £m453501.3610.4 Note these figures are for Environment Agency FCRM Capital programme spend only.(Source: Central Government Funding for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management in England, March 2022)

Environment Protection: EU Law

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 on the UK’s environmental standards.

Trudy Harrison: The United Kingdom is a world leader in environmental protection and we will not weaken environmental protections. We recognise that a strong environment and strong economy go hand-in-hand. In reviewing our retained EU law, we want to ensure that environmental law is fit for purpose for the UK's unique environment, enabling us to drive improved environmental outcomes and deliver on our commitment to halt nature's decline by 2030, whilst ensuring regulators can deliver efficiently. Any changes to environmental regulations will be driven with those goals in mind.Defra is in the process of analysing its REUL stock and determining what should be preserved as part of domestic law, as well as REUL that should be repealed, or amended. This work will determine how we use the powers in the Bill and therefore inform assessments of the Bill's impact, including in relation to environmental protections.

Avian Flu: EU Law

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether clause 1 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill will apply to the Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) (No.2) Order 2006.

Mark Spencer: The Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) (No.2) Order 2006 (as amended) S.I. 2702/2006  falls within the scope of Clause 1 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Home Office

Albania: Undocumented Migrants

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Albanian government on the direct and expedited return of Albanian illegal migrants to Albania.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Office: Email

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the draft Written Ministerial Statement emailed by the Home Secretary to the hon. Member for South Holland and the Deepings was market sensitive.

Suella Braverman: I wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee Chair on 31 October and a copy of the letter was placed in the House Libraries - I refer the Rt. Hon. member to that letter.

Home Office: Electronic Messaging

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether save as detailed in paragraph 33 of her letter of 31 October 2022 to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee she has sent any official Government documents using any non-secure messaging systems to any persons while holding any positions in Government.

Suella Braverman: I wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee Chair on 31 October and a copy of the letter was placed in the House Libraries - I refer the Hon. member to that letter.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton, reference MPAM/0443571/22, what the technical issue is that delayed his constituent's case; and whether this technical issue has affected any other applications made to her Department.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Hotels

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average daily spend on hotel accommodation for asylum seekers was in September 2022; and what the average daily number of asylum seekers accommodated in those hotels was in September 2022.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Hotels

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers were accommodated in hotels in September 2022; and what the cost was per person per night, rounded to the nearest £10.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department will respond to the correspondence of 3 October 2022 from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton on Maria Yeka.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Leader of the House of Commons: Correspondence

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional resources she will allocate to the Home Office’s MP Account Management Team to help ensure her Department can respond to MPs correspondence within its 20 day target.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 29 September 2022 from the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton on Hareth Alhuraithi.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Office: Electronic Messaging

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides on the use of (a) a personal mobile phone and (b) personal email addresses for Government business for (i) Ministers and (ii) employees.

Suella Braverman: There is a place for the use of a variety of digital channels in fast moving modern environments. Ministers will have informal conversations from time to time, in person or remotely, and relevant content from such discussions is passed back to officials.They will also use a variety of digital communications channels for personal, political and Parliamentary matters.The Cabinet Office has published guidance to departments on the use of private email that covers how information is held for the purposes of access to information, and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. This guidance is being updated to reflect changes in technology and ways of working, and will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.It is Government policy not to comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements. Ministers receive support and expert advice to help them meet their obligations in the most appropriate and secure fashion. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 30 September 2022 from the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton on Maddy Lututa.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the statement on Western Jet Foil and Manston Asylum Processing Centres on Monday 31 October 2022 Col 644, how many new hotels were approved for use for individuals from Manston Immigration Processing Centre between 6 September 2022 and 19 October 2022, broken down by (a) county and (b) constituency.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton, reference MPAM/0448152/22, what the technical issue is that is delaying his constituent's case; and whether this technical issue has affected any other applications made to her Department.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vulnerable adult warning forms have been submitted for individuals held at Manston Short-Term Holding Facility, each month since the facility's opening.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the possible compensation due to asylum-seekers as a result of the conditions at Manston asylum centre.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees had been designated as adults at risk while at Manston Short-Term Holding Facility, in each month since the facility's opening.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents involving (a) violence and (b) non-compliance have been reported at Manston Short-Term Holding Facility in each month since the facility's opening.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been held for (a) less than 24 hours, (b) between 24 and 48 hours and (c) longer than 48 hours at the Manston Short-term Holding Facility in the latest period for which data is available.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Hotels

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of asylum-seekers in hotel accommodation awaiting an inadmissibility decision.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the average length of time spent by an asylum-seeker waiting for a decision on inadmissibility.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average recorded stay for (a) an individual and (b) a family accommodated at Manston Short-term Holding Facility has been since that facility opened.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the longest recorded stay for (a) an individual and (b) a family accommodated at Manston Short-term Holding Facility was since that facility opened.

Robert Jenrick: Home Office does not hold the data in the format requested.

Detention Centres: Manston

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of overcrowding at the Manston detention centre on the mental health of the individuals detained there.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals detained at the Manston detention centre have sought support for their mental health.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals detained at the Manston detention centre have been identified to have a diagnosable mental health disorder.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Applications

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications are outstanding in (a) Newport East constituency and (b) the UK; and what is the average wait time for an asylum (i) interview and (ii) decision in (A) Newport East constituency and (B) the UK.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children there are at the Manston processing centre; and what proportion of those children are unaccompanied.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date was the change of use planning permission for the Manston site approved as a processing centre for asylum claimants.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Passports: Christchurch

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of when the application for an adult passport made by a resident of Christchurch constituency on 21 April 2022 with reference PEX 3534276509 will be processed; and for what reason there has been a delay.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 01 November to Question 72951 on Detention Centres: Manston, what is the maximum length of time the Secretary of State can legally authorise an individual to be detained at Manston for.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Migrant Workers: Skilled Workers

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October to Question 61719 on Migrant Workers: Skilled Workers, how many skilled worker visa applications submitted in the UK have surpassed the service standard time.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Detention Centres: Manston

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the mental health of individuals detained at the Manston detention centre.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Leader of the House of Commons: Correspondence

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make it its policy to provide a separate written response for each individual case raised by hon. Members rather than than combining multiple cases in one letter.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Animal Experiments: Inspections

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of in-person inspections of establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Animal Experiments: Inspections

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual reports 2019 to 2021, published in October 2022, what assessment she has made of that report's finding that over 95 per cent of non-compliance incidents were self-reported from 2019 to 2021; and whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of unannounced inspections of establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Police: Royal Commissions

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of conducting another Royal Commission on Policing.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Motorcycles: Crime Prevention

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to reduce illegal off-road bike crime in Stockport constituency.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Police: Protective Clothing

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on procuring stab vests for police forces; what steps she is taking to increase supply of those vests; and if she will make a statement..

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Police Custody: Training

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2022 to Question 69785 on Police Custody: Children, what estimate she has made of the (a) number of Custody Officers and other relevant staff and (b) proportion of Custody Officers and other relevant staff who have completed the one-day immersive training course as of 1 November 2022.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hillsborough Independent Panel: Archives

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reinstate online accessibility to the Hillsborough archive following the ending of criminal trials; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hillsborough Families' Experiences Review

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish a Government response to the report by Bishop James Jones entitled The Patronising Disposition of Unaccountable Power.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Public Sector: Accountability

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce the measures contained within the Public Authorities (Accountability) Bill 2017; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Criminal Investigation: Computers and Mobile Phones

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allotting targeted funding to allow for the efficient and quick analysis of (a) mobile phones and (b) computers in investigations.

Chris Philp: The Government has provided a total police funding settlement of up to £16.9 billion in 2022/23, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to 2021/22.Decisions about the allocation of police resources locally, are a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected local policing bodies (including Police and Crime Commissioners, Mayors exercising with PCC functions and the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime).Where we have identified a specific need for targeted investment, such as through the Digital Forensics Programme, the Home Office is providing funding to allow for the efficient and quick analysis of digital devices. For example, as part of commitments made under the Rape Review we provided £5m in 2021/22 to support policing to acquire technology that will enable police forces to extract data more swiftly from mobile devices belonging to rape victims, with further investment to bolster these capabilities agreed for this financial year.

Motor Vehicles: Noise

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) fined for excessive vehicle noise on public roads in each of the last three years.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and publishes information annually on the number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued and other outcomes for motoring offences, including for the specific noise offence classification 822. This information is published as part of the Home Office’s annual ‘Other PACE Powers’ bulletin and can be found in Table FPN_03 of the Fixed Penalty Notices data tables.It should be noted that offence 822 does not cover all offences related to excessive vehicle noise and the data does not specify whether the incident occurred on a public road.The next release of this bulletin is scheduled for Thursday 17th November, and will contain data for the calendar year 2021.The Home Office does not collect information on the number of prosecutions for excessive vehicle noise on public roads. The Ministry of Justice publishes data in its Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly publication on prosecutions and convictions for motoring offences.

Police: South Wales

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent meetings she has had with (a) the Chief Constable for South Wales Police and (b) the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales.

Chris Philp: The Home Secretary regularly meets with senior colleagues across the policing sector and will continue to do so as part of her role.Details of ministerial meetings are published on the Cabinet Office website on a quarterly basis, and can be found here: Home Office: ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Police Custody

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her policy to make the publication of police custody data mandatory for all police forces.

Chris Philp: Information on adults and children detained in police custody and strip searches that have taken place in police custody has been collected by the Home Office for the first time this year (2021/22).As is usual practice for all new data collections added to the Annual Data Requirement (ADR), these data have been collected on a voluntary basis for 2021/22 to allow forces time to embed recording processes and make changes to their systems as required. As such, not all forces have provided data or have provided partial data, with some forces reporting issues with extracting the data from their custody systems.Data that have been collected from forces are scheduled for publication on 17 November 2022 in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical publication: Police powers and procedures: Other PACE powers, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2022 - National statistics announcement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Police Custody

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2022 to Question 69787 on Police Custody: Children, whether any police forces have encountered technical issues preventing the publication of police custody data for the Police Powers and Procedures bulletin on 17 November 2022.

Chris Philp: The information is not held in the requested format.

Hate Crime

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2022 to Question 67097, on what date her Department publish its new Hate Crime Strategy.

Miss Sarah Dines: No date has yet been determined for publication of the Hate Crime Strategy.

Home Office: Security

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her letter to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, dated 31 October 2022, whether she has taken recent steps to increase the security of personal technology devices used by (a) her and (b) her staff members.

Tom Tugendhat: In line with the practice of successive administrations, this Government does not comment on internal security issues.

National Crime Agency

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is taking to increase the effectiveness of the investigations of the National Crime Agency’s Combating Kleptocracy Cell.

Tom Tugendhat: The Combatting Kleptocracy Cell (CKC) was established following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The CKC builds on the NCA’s existing expertise and uses all available capabilities to crack down on sanctions evasion and high-end money laundering.To date, the CKC has secured a number of Freezing Orders (AFOs) over accounts held by individuals who are closely linked to sanctioned Russians, and an array of other disruptions against a range of Russian elites and their enablers. The CKC’s work has assisted in the freezing of numerous properties, eight yachts and four aircraft across the globe, and it continues to work in concert with the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in HMT to ensure that other assets in the UK are frozen, as well as with global partners to target illicit wealth held abroad.The CKC forms an integral part of the wider government response to Russia-linked illicit finance and the Home Office will continue to support the NCA by providing additional funding for the CKC this financial year

China: Police Stations

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential security implications of alleged Chinese police stations in UK territory.

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to locate alleged Chinese police stations in UK territory.

Tom Tugendhat: As I said to the House in my statement on 1 November, reports of undeclared ‘police stations’ in the UK are of course very concerning and are taken extremely seriously. Any foreign country operating on UK soil must abide by UK law.I have discussed this matter with the police and I am assured that they are investigating allegations of unlawful activity. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further on operational matters. I have discussed this matter with the police and I am assured that they are investigating allegations of unlawful activity. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further on operational matters.The protection of people in the UK is of the utmost importance and any attempt to illegally repatriate any individual will not be tolerated.

Police: Pay

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the starting salary of police officers in order to attract more potential candidates to the profession.

Chris Philp: The independent Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) makes recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers.The PRRB gathers and invites parties to submit evidence to inform its recommendations. This includes both written and oral evidence from the Government, police employers and police staff associations. The PRRB weighs the evidence, considers independent research, and formulates detailed recommendations.On 19 July the Government announced that it had accepted in full the recommendations of the PRRB to award a consolidated increase of £1,900 to all police officer ranks and pay points with effect from 1 September 2022. The award is targeted at those on the lowest pay points to provide an uplift of up to 8.8%.As at 30 September 2022, 15,343 additional uplift officers have been recruited in England and Wales through the Police Uplift Programme, 77% of the target of 20,000 additional officers by March 2023.Nationally forces have received 244,166 applications since the start of the uplift and interest in policing careers remains strong.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timetable is for publishing a Government response to the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Government is truly grateful to victims and survivors who bravely came forward to share their perspectives and experiences with the Inquiry. Their testimony has helped to shed further light on the horrific sexual abuse suffered by children, and the extent to which children across England and Wales have been failed by institutions that should have protected them.We owe it to the victims and survivors to give the Inquiry’s recommendations proper time, consideration, and attention, so the Government will now carefully consider all of the findings and recommendations, before responding fully within the Inquiry’s six-month timeframe.

Refugees: Ukraine

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will reinstate the security checking DBS service for Ukrainian refugees seeking employment in childcare settings.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is able to provide criminal record certificates for those who have lived overseas and DBS checks therefore can be undertaken for Ukrainians who wish to work in those sectors where DBS checks are mandatory or where employers require them including childcare settings. However, as the DBS cannot access overseas criminal records, DBS checks will only contain information on criminal records in the UK. The Home Office provides guidance to employers who wish to request overseas criminal records checks for time spent abroad.Specifically, Ukrainian citizens can apply for their criminal record checks via the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Local Government Finance

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, whether his Department plans on extending the provision in that Instrument beyond 31 March 2023.

Lee Rowley: In 2020, the Government put in place a statutory accounting override that allows local authorities to hold any deficits on their school budgets separately, in accounting terms, from their wider finances. This protects those affected authorities from risks to their financial sustainability or ability to deliver services. The Government is considering carefully the future of the override and will communicate its decision in due course.

Local Government Finance: Stockport

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has plans to provide additional support to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council to help help with increases in (a) inflation and (b) rising energy costs.

Lee Rowley: Policy announcements on local government spending allocations will be announced in due course in the usual way.

UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he will submit the Government’s combined twenty-fourth to twenty-sixth periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Government’s UK’s combined twenty-fourth to twenty-sixth periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has been drafted; and what the timetable is for its submission.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is preparing its report, and it will be submitted in due course.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Correspondence and Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Lucy Frazer: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence from Members of Parliament and the public, and is committed to providing the highest level of service and making continuous improvements.The department's PQ performance for the previous parliamentary session can be found here. The department's annual correspondence performance can also be found here.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Impact Assessments

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the impact assessment for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

Lucy Frazer: Yes, the impact assessment will be published in due course.

Planning

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of local authority planning fee receipts in meeting the costs of assessing and determining planning applications in England.

Lucy Frazer: Government statistics on local authority income and expenditure here (Table RO5) show that the income from planning fees consistently falls short of the cost of processing planning applications in England. To reduce this shortfall, it is our intention, as announced earlier this year, to consult on proposals to increase planning fees so that they cover a greater proportion of the cost of processing planning applications.

Housing Associations: Fees and Charges

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to prevent housing associations from adding hidden costs to shared ownership transactions.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is clear that all costs should be clearly set out as part of Shared Ownership lease agreements.

Refugees: Ukraine

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the average monthly cost to a local authority of supporting a homeless Ukrainian refugee whose sponsorship arrangement has broken down.

Felicity Buchan: For arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, the Government is providing funding to councils to enable them to provide support to individuals and families, including in the minority of cases where someone is left without accommodation.

Sheltered Housing

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation to protect residents of retirement villages and for setting minimum standards for operators of retirement communities.

Felicity Buchan: In the Levelling Up White Paper, we committed to a new taskforce on the issue of older people's housing, which will look at ways we can provide greater choice, quality and security of housing for older people, and support the growth of a thriving older people's housing sector in this country.Where retirement housing providers are registered with the Regulator of Social Housing, the Regulator has the role of ensuring that providers are well-managed and are able to meet the regulatory standards.The Care Quality Commission oversees standards of personal care services in housing-with-care retirement settings irrespective of housing tenure.

Refugees: Ukraine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that hon. Members are kept regularly briefed on the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees in their constituencies.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of Ukrainians housed under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in each local authority in Greater Manchester.

Felicity Buchan: The most up to date data on arrivals through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be accessed here.   Further information can be accessed here.

Homelessness

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what additional support he will offer to local authorities on reducing (a) levels of homelessness and (b) the number of people in temporary accomodation.

Felicity Buchan: The Government is committed to reducing the need for temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness before it occurs. Local authorities have received funding through the Homelessness Prevention Grant in 2022-23, giving them the support to prevent homelessness and help more people sooner and deliver their statutory duties to prevent homelessness and provide temporary accommodation where required. Local authorities can use this flexibly to meet their homelessness and rough sleeping strategies - for example, to offer financial support for people to find a new home and to work with landlords to prevent evictions, among other preventative measures.

Private Rented Housing: Students

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that students are not exploited in the private renting market.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what protections his Department has implemented for students in the private renting market.

Felicity Buchan: The Government has taken significant action over the past decade to protect all tenants, including students. This includes capping tenancy deposits at five weeks' rent and preventing landlords and agents from charging undue or excess letting fees. We have also improved standards by requiring landlords to provide smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as conduct electrical safety checks.The Government published a White Paper on 16 June 2022 setting out our plans to reform the private rented sector and level up housing across the country. Our reforms will provide more secure and high-quality homes and create a stable rental market for landlords to remain and invest. We know that some landlords are concerned about how the new tenancy system will work for students, and we are considering how we can best support the student lettings market.

Park Homes: Sales

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the total commissions received by site owners from home sales by park home residents in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Felicity Buchan: The information requested is not held centrally.The report 'The impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission', which we published in June this year, estimated that the average commission earned per sale in the last three years since 2018/20, was just over £11,000. Most park owners also received three or fewer commissions in the same period.

Local Government: Audit

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his Department has in place to support local authorities in meeting the audit deadline of 30 November 2022.

Lee Rowley: We have provided £15 million in additional taxpayer subsidy for 2021/22 to support local authorities with the costs of strengthening their financial reporting. The Government is also continuing to deliver on the commitments it made in its response to the Redmond Review.

Capital Investment: Environment Protection

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will ensure that changes to planning rules in investment zones will not reduce protections for ancient woodlands.

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will ensure that ancient woodlands in the Greater London area continue to be protected in the event that they are located in an area which is to become an investment zone.

Lee Rowley: I refer my Rt. Hon. Friend to Question UIN71118, answered on the 2 November 2022.

Members: Correspondence

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to respond to the letter of 1 April 2022 from the hon. Member for Angus, related to transport for Ukrainian refugees, case reference DD6233.

Felicity Buchan: A letter was issued to the Hon. Member on 26 May 2022. My office has emailed a copy for your reference.

Levelling Up Fund: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential (a) direct and (b) indirect financial benefits to Shropshire of Shropshire Council's bid for £18 million from the Levelling Up fund.

Dehenna Davison: Following the bid deadline on 2nd August 2022, all bids to the second round of the Levelling Up Fund, including Shropshire Council's bid, are being assessed, following the robust process set out in published guidance.I hope my Hon. Friend will understand that, for reasons of fairness, I cannot discuss our assessment of individual bids during this period of competition, whilst bids are being evaluated.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether all local authorities have received a response to their investment plans under the Shared Prosperity Fund allocations; and when local authorities which have not received a response will do so.

Dehenna Davison: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are finalising the validation of UK Shared Prosperity Fund investment plans and will be notifying lead local authorities of the outcome in due course.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Email

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether Ministers in his Department have sent any privileged Government information to and from their personal email addresses.

Mr Alister Jack: There is a place for the use of a variety of digital channels in fast moving modern environments. Ministers will have informal conversations from time to time, in person or remotely, and relevant content from such discussions is passed back to officials. They will also use a variety of digital communications channels for personal, political and Parliamentary matters.

Attorney General

Visits Abroad: Poland

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to data entitled Transparency GPC Transactions over £500 May 2022, published online by her Department on 8 August 2022, showing that two flights were booked for her predecessor’s trip to Poland on 6 May 2022, (a) whether her predecessor used the ticket purchased for £816.43 or £897.31, and (b) for what purpose the other ticket was purchased.

Michael Tomlinson: The flights to Poland were for four individuals. This included the former Attorney General and three officials. The former Attorney General’s ticket is included in the £816.43 figure, which appears on the Transparency GPC Transaction Return. There are two transactions because the individuals did not travel together on the same flight.

Attorney General: Public Expenditure

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, on what date her Department published transparency data for ministerial meetings, travel, hospitality and gifts covering the period January to March 2021; and where that information can be found online.

Michael Tomlinson: The Ministerial Transparency returns for meetings, overseas travel, hospitality, and gifts for January to March 2021 was published on the Attorney General’s Office official website on 15 July 2021. This transparency return was published under an incorrect title. The Attorney General’s Office has now corrected the title of the transparency data, and this can be viewed by the public on the official website.

Attorney General: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, what total amount of money has been paid out by her Department in severance payments for former (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers since 29 June 2022; how much of that money has subsequently been repaid to her Department as a result of individuals (A) rejecting the payment or (B) returning to new roles; and in how many cases where individuals were in post for (I) 0-3 months, (II) 3-6 months, (III) 6-12 months and (IV) more than 12 months has their full severance payment been retained as of 2 November 2022.

Michael Tomlinson: The Provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation. Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts. Similarly, the provision of severance payments for special advisers is set out in the Model Contract, which is available on gov.uk, including provisions for repayment of severance if reappointed. The cost of severance payments made to special advisers across government is published annually by the Cabinet Office.

War Crimes: Russia

Matt Vickers: To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to support the investigation of potential Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Michael Tomlinson: The Government is appalled by the atrocities which are being perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has caused widespread devastation, targeted civilians, created mass graves, and used rape and sexual violence as weapons of war. We continue to stand steadfastly should-to-shoulder with Ukraine and remain at the forefront of international efforts to ensure there is no impunity. The Government continues to work closely with Ukraine, including with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, and other international partners to ensure that evidence of war crimes is collected and preserved. This process is vital to ensuring that perpetrators can be brought to justice. We are also continuing our efforts to ensure accountability for war crimes and atrocities through international judicial bodies, including the International Criminal Court.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Public Appointments

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how long on average Ministers spent in post in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Quin: This information is not collected centrally. However ministerial appointments and their duration are a matter of public record.

Office for Investment: Ministerial Responsibility

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister has responsibility for the Office for Investment.

Jeremy Quin: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Trade, has lead responsibility on this matter.A List of Ministerial Responsibilities setting out Ministerial allocations within departments will be published in due course, in the usual way.

Former Ministers: Redundancy Pay

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the total cost the public purse of severance pay awarded to members of the Government leaving ministerial posts since 1 July 2022.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 sets out the detail and circumstances under which former Ministers are eligible for a severance payment. A Minister leaving office, who is below the age of 65 and who is not otherwise reappointed to a Ministerial position within 3 weeks of their last day of service, is eligible for a severance payment of 25% of their annual claimed salary at the time at which they ceased to hold office.

Climate Action Implementation Committee: Ministers

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister will Chair the Climate Action Strategy Committee.

Jeremy Quin: GOV.UK is updated regularly with the list of Cabinet Committees, their terms of reference, membership and who chairs each Committee.

Cabinet Office: Email

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance he has issued to Ministers in his Department on the use of private email addresses for government business.

Jeremy Quin: Ministers are not prohibited from using private email, but are reminded of their obligations to national security, and to the management of official information and records, through the department’s policies, the Cabinet Manual, and the Ministerial Code. In particular the Guidance on the Use of Private Email, published by the Cabinet Office in 2013 states that should a minister receive information in their private email account, they should consider whether the information contained in it relates to substantive discussions or decisions generated in the course of conducting Government business and, if so, take steps to ensure the relevant information is accessible, for example, by copying it to a government email address.Consequently, and in line with the 2013 Guidance, The Cabinet Office recognises that a blanket prohibition on use of private email by ministers for government business would be impractical, because, for example, it would not prevent a third party emailing a minister’s personal email address directly.

Civil Service: Redundancy

Christine Jardine: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of the Government's development of proposals to cut 91,000 civil service jobs.

Jeremy Quin: Departments are constantly working to ensure the cost of Government is no greater than it needs to be to deliver for the public. Recent activity on workforce proposals will inform how departments maximise efficiency within their budgets, to ensure that the Government is using taxpayers’ money sustainably in the long term.

Small Businesses: Procurement

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of central Government public sector procurement spending awarded outside London was awarded directly to small and medium sized enterprises in the last financial year.

Jeremy Quin: This information is not held centrally.The latest procurement figures for 2020/21 show that across central government, £19.3 billion, representing 26.9% of spending, was paid to small and medium sized businesses to help deliver public services. This figure is an increase of £3.7 billion on the previous year, and the highest since records began in 2013.

Integrated Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy Review

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2022 to Question 71122 on the Integrated Review, if he will publish a timetable for a decision regarding the Integrated Review refresh.

Jeremy Quin: The Government has decided to continue with the Integrated Review refresh. The date of publication will be confirmed in due course.

Government Departments: Security

Julie Elliott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of her Department's policies on securing Government devices from external influence.

Jeremy Quin: The Government takes matters of security very seriously. Appropriate arrangements and guidance are in place for the management of electronic communications within Government. As with all guidance, this is kept under review and updated as necessary.

Cabinet Office: Finance and Staff

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) funding and (b) numbers of full-time equivalent staff have been allocated to the work of the Government Strategic Management Office (GSMO) over the course of financial years (i) 2020-21, (ii) 2021-22 and (iii) 2022-23; and if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the GSMO since the start of the financial year 2020-21.

Jeremy Quin: The Government Strategic Management Office (GSMO) was created in the summer of 2021 when the former Prime Minister’s Implementation Unit was disbanded on the creation of the No.10 Delivery Unit. The details you have requested are below. Since its creation, GSMO has worked with HM Treasury and No.10 to improve the collection, assessment and distribution of data on the Prime Minister’s top priority projects and programmes and departmental plans to achieve the government’s outcomes.PeriodFundingFTE2020-21N/AN/A2021-22£1.2m102022-23£1.1m11

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Recruitment

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much their Department spent on external recruitment consultants in 2021.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Exports: Government Assistance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of her Department’s export strategy entitled, Made in the UK, sold to the World, published on 17 November 2021; and if she will make a statement.

Andrew Bowie: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Riot Control Weapons: Iran

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether any of the equipment used by Iranian authorities in response to ongoing protests in that country was (a) manufactured in the UK or (b) exported from the UK.

Nigel Huddleston: We have checked records of licences granted over the past twenty years and I can confirm that no licences for the export of crowd control equipment have been approved for Iran. HM Government will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including if there is a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Department for International Trade: USA

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department has spent on (a) flights and (b) hotel accommodation for visits by (i) officials and (ii) Ministers to the United States in the last 18 months.

Nigel Huddleston: I refer the honourable Member to the answer given to her by my right honourable Friend, the Member for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt), on 30 May 2022, UIN 5414. The Department for International Trade (DIT) has spent a total of £243,892.79 on flights and accommodation between April 2022 and September 2022 for officials and Ministers visiting the United States of America.  DIT Ministerial travel is published at the following location; GOV.UK

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent progress her Department has made on securing UK membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK continues to make good progress on negotiating accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, having demonstrated to members of the partnership that we are a high-standards, fair trading economy. In person market access negotiations were held in Tokyo in July, followed by a subsequent round in Sydney in October. Negotiations will continue over the coming months; the UK will take the time needed to ensure that accession takes place on terms that are right for British business and interests.

Service Industries: Exports

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to enable the UK's financial and professional services industries gain full access to international markets through international trade agreements being negotiated by her Department.

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether it is her policy for the UK's professional and financial services industries to gain full market access in trade deals with (a) India, (b) Israel and (c) Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK is the second-largest exporter of other business services, which includes professional, and financial services, in the world. To improve the access these important and diverse sectors have to foreign markets HMG seeks ambitious commitments in its free trade agreements to support all elements of the services ecosystem. This includes provisions on market access, regulatory transparency, investment, business travel, recognition of qualifications, regulatory dialogue and data. HMG has published its objectives for negotiations with India, Israel and CPTPP, which can be found on gov.uk.

Department for International Trade: Correspondence and Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Nigel Huddleston: All departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus. The Department for International Trade (DIT) is committed to providing effective, timely answers to written Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence. We review our processes and performance at regular intervals and run tailored training sessions for staff to drive up the quality and timeliness of responses.

Food: Africa

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce tariffs on food from African countries.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK currently grants preferential tariff access to food imports from 51 African countries through the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) or one of the nine Free Trade Agreements the UK has secured with African regions and countries. These arrangements offer tariff-free access for all food products from 43 African countries and preferential rates on many products from the other 8 countries. In early 2023, the GSP will be replaced by the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) which will offer more generous tariff preferences to Algeria, the Republic of the Congo and Nigeria including on more than 1,000 additional food products.

Trade Agreements: India

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what her planned timetable is for the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement with India.

Nigel Huddleston: Free trade agreement negotiations are ongoing with India. We have provisionally closed the majority of chapters. To date, there have been five formal rounds of talks and we look forward to the next formal round of negotiations soon.The Government is clear that in negotiations we will not sacrifice quality for speed. We will continue to review progress and only sign when we have a deal that is fair, reciprocal, and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy.

Trade Agreements: Conditions of Employment

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether trade agreements under negotiation with (a) India and (b) the Gulf Cooperation Council will include provisions on occupational health and safety, working hours and wages.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether trade agreements under negotiation with (a) India and (b) the Gulf Cooperation Council will include binding labour clauses or chapters.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the trade agreements her Department is negotiating with (a) India and (b) the Gulf Cooperation Council include a commitment to meet International Labour Organisation (ILO) core labour standards.

Greg Hands: We have an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to help our nation become a truly Global Britain. FTAs build relationships with our trading partners to break down barriers to trade and support growth, jobs and higher wages for UK workers. The Government shares the public’s high regard for worker protections and will continue to advocate for labour standards and working conditions globally, including under the International Labour Organization. While we do not comment on the details of live negotiations, the Government will continue to maintain protections of the UK’s labour standards in new trade agreements, including in talks with India and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

TRIPS Agreement: Coronavirus

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions she has had with (a) The Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, (b) Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (c) The Secretary for Health and Social Care and (d) her G7 counterparts on the potential merits of including covid-19 treatment and diagnostics in the TRIPS Agreement.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what consultation her Department is holding on whether the TRIPS Agreement should be extended to cover covid-19 therapeutics and diagnostic tests.

Greg Hands: Consultations with other government departments are ongoing on whether the MC12 TRIPS Decision be extended to include COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. UK Government officials will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders, as well as with other World Trade Organization Members at the TRIPS Council. The UK looks forward to making progress in this area and remains committed to engaging constructively.

Trade Agreements: India

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department plans to take steps to help mitigate the emissions increases projected in the UK-India Free Trade Agreement Scoping Assessment, published January 2022.

Greg Hands: A free trade agreement (FTA) with India could help address trade barriers, drive growth and support jobs across the UK. The Government is seeking provisions that support our ambitions on the environment and climate change, while preserving the UK’s right to regulate.Alongside FTA negotiations, the UK and India work together to support clean growth. The UK-India roadmap includes an ambitious agenda for collaboration on climate change as well as work in multilateral fora such as the World Trade Organization.At signature, the Government will publish the Impact Assessment including estimates of emissions impacts expected to result from the agreement.

Energy Charter Treaty

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has received representations from (a) fossil fuel producers and (b) renewable energy producers on the Energy Charter Treaty.

Greg Hands: Energy and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) are the responsibility of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary of State, with the Department for International Trade (DIT) leading on the investment provisions within the treaty. In this role, DIT has not had direct engagement on the Energy Charter Treaty with fossil fuel producers or renewable energy producers.

Energy Charter Treaty

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the likelihood of an investor state dispute settlement claim being made against the UK under the Energy Charter Treaty.

Greg Hands: The United Kingdom has investment agreements with Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions with over 90 trading partners, including within the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). There has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the United Kingdom, nor has the threat of potential claims affected decisions taken by HM Government. Negotiations have recently been completed to modernise the investment protection and dispute settlement provisions in the Energy Charter Treaty, which aim to provide greater clarity on the standards of protection afforded to investors and reduce the scope for claims with lack legal merit.

Energy Charter Treaty

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of (a) the withdrawal of (i) France, (ii) Poland, (iii) Spain, (iv) the Netherlands and (v) Italy from the Energy Charter Treaty and (b) its implications for her department’s policies.

Greg Hands: The Government continues to monitor the positions of other Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Responsibility for the ECT lies with the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. The Department for International Trade leads on the investment provisions and investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) and continues to see an important role for these policies in the UK’s trade policy.

Trade Agreements

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of UK international trade is covered by free trade agreements.

Greg Hands: We have an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to help our nation become a truly Global Britain.  The UK Government has already secured trade agreements with 71 countries plus the EU, partners that accounted for 63.1% (£814bn) of UK bilateral trade in 2021. Our FTA programme continues at pace, with trade negotiations currently live with eight markets – India, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Canada, Mexico, Israel and Greenland, as well as negotiating a Digital Trade Agreement with Ukraine.

Financial Services: Exports

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to increase trade opportunities for the UK financial services sector.

Andrew Bowie: The Department for International Trade is committed to increasing trade opportunities for the UK financial services sector. We work closely with the sector through Trade Advisory Group forums, to secure their input to develop our ambitious free trade agreements programme. We identify overseas market access barriers and work to remove them through our overseas Post network. Together with a wide range of industry organisations we promote the UK’s world class financial services sector in key areas such as asset management, insurance, green and sustainable finance as well as supporting fintech and insuretech providers to enter high growth overseas markets.

Fisheries: Exports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support fishing exports.

Andrew Bowie: The Department for International Trade is working closely with Defra to deliver the £1m seafood exports package launched in May 2022. The 3-year package aims to grow overseas markets and provide new export opportunities for the UK fishing industry. The package will identify new overseas buyers for UK seafood companies, promote UK seafood at international events and increase expertise on British seafood in our Embassies overseas. In April we delivered a UK pavilion showcasing the best of British seafood at Seafood Expo Global and we are bringing a number of inward missions of buyers to the UK later this year.

Trade Agreements: British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what mechanisms her Department uses to consult Overseas Territories on the provisions of future trade agreements.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade engages regularly with representatives of Overseas Territories on the UK’s free trade agreements (FTAs). The frequency of discussions regarding specific trade agreements will be determined by each territories’ respective interests. The Department for International Trade has included an extension mechanism in UK FTAs giving Overseas Territories the opportunity to be part of these FTAs should they choose.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Tourism: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to promote London as a destination for tourism.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to supporting the domestic tourism market, including the city of London, by working towards the objectives set out in the Tourism Recovery Plan (TRP).London was a featured city in VisitBritain’s international marketing campaign Welcome to Another Side of Britain. The GREAT-funded campaign ran in the USA and Europe and was designed to encourage the return of international visitors.VisitEngland also ran the Escape the Everyday DMO Recovery Marketing Fund. Visit Greenwich was one of the successful DMOs.In September, VisitBritain hosted Destination Britain North America, a 3-day trade fair in Washington DC, connecting British suppliers with tourism product buyers and media from the US and Canada. 15 London-based suppliers attended. Major events continue to be an important driver of tourism to London and the government will continue to work with stakeholders in the industry to attract important events to venues across the UK.

Technology: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of the level of growth of the technology sector in Solihull constituency.

Paul Scully: The UK’s start up and scale up tech ecosystem was recently valued at over £1 trillion. The UK is only the third country in the world to have a tech sector reach this valuation. We are committed to ensuring the benefits and growth of the tech sector are felt in all corners of the country. Last year we published DCMS’ Regional Tech Ecosystems report, which aims to better understand the drivers of growth at a local level.Our Department’s Regional GVA official statistics show that the tech sector contributed over £7.5 billion to the West Midlands’ economy in 2019 in real terms (approx. 5.3% of the region’s GVA). The tech sector has consistently provided the largest contribution out of all of DCMS’ sectors to the West Midlands economy. The region's tech ecosystem was recently valued at an impressive £15.3 billion - up from £11.5 billion in 2021. Between April 2021 - March 2022, there were 111,000 filled jobs in the West Midlands’ tech sector, representing almost 4% of all filled jobs in the region.We are making investments in our Digital Infrastructure to drive growth and innovation at a local level. Last month my Department announced that the world-class, UK Telecommunications Laboratory, will be opening in the metropolitan borough of Solihull. The laboratory will provide a safe environment for security experts to test new and existing software and equipment, using groundbreaking technology. This will keep our public telecommunications networks secure, and support incumbent and new supplier entrants to the market. Importantly, in close collaboration with academia and industry, this national capability will drive the growth of skills in the key technical areas of telecoms and cyber security across Solihull and the country.

Economic Situation: Gambling

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential economic effects on individuals of harmful gambling habits.

Paul Scully: Harmful gambling can cause a range of negative outcomes, including financial harms which can be lasting for individuals and those around them. While it is not possible to quantify the economic effects on individuals in society, legislation governing gambling and the requirements placed on operators by the independent regulator, the Gambling Commission, are intended to offer a wide range of protections for the population as a whole as well as more targeted interventions for those experiencing harm.Our wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act 2005 aims to ensure that the protections in place to prevent harm are appropriate and effective for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out next steps in the coming weeks.

Football Governance Fan-led Review

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is her policy to introduce the ten recommendations of the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance.

Stuart Andrew: The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022.The Government recognises the need for football to be reformed to ensure the game’s sustainability in the long term. Therefore, the government is taking the time to consider the policy and consult the numerous stakeholders, but remains committed to publishing a White Paper setting out our detailed response to the Fan Led Review of Football Governance.

Football: Public Appointments

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing an independent regulator for English football.

Stuart Andrew: The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022.I recently met representatives from the Football Supporters’ Association, and from club supporters’ groups to discuss issues with our national game and what the solutions might be. I have also met representatives from the football authorities to discuss reform.The Government recognises the need for football to be reformed to ensure the game’s sustainability in the long term. Therefore, the government is taking the time to consider the policy and consult the numerous stakeholders, but remains committed to publishing a White Paper setting out our detailed response to the Fan Led Review of Football Governance.

Tourism

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the policy paper entitled Tourism Recovery Plan, published on 11 June 2021, what progress her Department has made on recovering annual domestic overnight (a) trip volume and (b) spend by the end of 2022.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Tourism Recovery Plan, published in June 2021, what progress the UK has made in returning inbound visitor volume to 41 million and spend to return to £28 billion by the end of 2023.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to the recovery of the tourism industry in the UK and has been working towards the objectives set out in the Tourism Recovery Plan.The Government will provide the DCMS Select Committee with an annual update on the progress of the Tourism Recovery Plan and the tourism industry more generally as it recovers.The first annual report is forthcoming and we will update on all of the objectives set out in the Tourism Recovery Plan in due course.

Educational Visits

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the ending of the List of Travellers Scheme on the youth, student and educational travel industry.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the youth, student and educational travel industry on the economy.

Stuart Andrew: Since the UK’s exit from the European Union, the government’s priority has been for people from Europe and beyond to be able to visit and enjoy the UK and for the tourism industry to thrive.The continuing desirability of English language skills drives the UK’s soft power on the world stage.The Tourism Recovery Plan recognises educational travel as an important part of the visitor economy and highlights the 2021 updates to the International Education Strategy, which sets out how we will promote English Language Training in the UK.There were 35,700 UK jobs supported by English Language Training in 2018, and this industry provided £1.4 billion GVA to the UK economy.

Sports: Cryptoassets

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of sports club (a) partnerships with crypto companies and (b) promotions of cryptoassets on the level of risk for sports fans.

Stuart Andrew: The Government has noted a growing market of partnerships between sports bodies and crypto asset businesses.The variety of crypto asset products is wide and evolving. We have always encouraged innovation in sports markets but this must be done with the interests of fans in mind and must be transparent on risks.

Television Licences: Cost Effectiveness

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the BBC on ensuring that (a) all Licence Payers and (b) pensioners receive value for money.

Julia Lopez: DCMS Ministers meet with the BBC regularly to discuss a range of issues, including how the BBC is delivering value for money. The BBC’s Mission makes clear the BBC has a duty to serve all audiences and the government expects the BBC to ensure its substantial licence fee income is used to deliver value for all licence fee payers, including pensioners.The NAO is responsible for auditing the BBC accounts and ensuring value for money in the way the BBC uses its funds. This ensures that there is appropriate scrutiny of how the BBC spends its public funding.

Broadband: West Yorkshire

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to improve broadband connections in (a) Morley and Outwood constituency and (b) West Yorkshire.

Julia Lopez: According to the independent website www.thinkbroadband.com gigabit broadband coverage in Morley and Outwood is 84.8%, which is above the national average of 71.5%. Over 98.7% of premises in Morley and Outwood have access to Superfast broadband with speeds of at least 30 Mbps, which is also above the national average of 97.3%.We are investing £5 billion through Project Gigabit so homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas that would not otherwise be reached through suppliers’ commercial plans can access gigabit broadband. Morley and Outwood is included in Project Gigabit’s regional procurement for West Yorkshire and parts of North Yorkshire.We are making good progress with this procurement, which will launch early next year. We have recently conducted market engagement to assess interest in the area from various suppliers, and identify where government subsidy is required.Eligible homes and businesses may also be able to benefit from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which provides a subsidy of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. Constituents in Morley and Outwood have made good use of the scheme to date, with 60 vouchers, worth over £140,000, used to connect premises to date.

Local Broadcasting

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is she will make an assessment of the potential impact of local public services broadcasting on local communities.

Julia Lopez: Public service broadcasting continues to be highly valued by viewers from all backgrounds in the UK. On a local level, our public service broadcasters, local TV providers, news publishers and commercial and community radio stations all play a crucial role in disseminating accurate news, strengthening pride of place, reflecting the unique interests of the audiences that they serve, connecting communities, and helping to address social issues like loneliness and mental health.The Government recognises the positive impact that local public service broadcasting has on local communities, and in our Broadcasting White Paper published in April this year we outlined our plans to support this diversity of content through a changing landscape.

Local Broadcasting

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will require that public service broadcasters consult local communities before reducing local (a) radio and (b) television services.

Julia Lopez: The Government recognises the positive impact that local public service broadcasting – particularly access to local radio and television services – has on local communities.In the UK, broadcasters, including our six public service broadcasters, are rightly operationally and editorially independent of government. It would therefore not be appropriate for the government to prescribe how those broadcasters approach decisions about their operations. Nevertheless, the government would expect public service broadcasters, as a matter of course, to consider carefully the views of the audiences they serve when determining the provision of both local and national services, and to set out detail on how these decisions will impact audiences and communities.

Biometrics: Arts and Audio Recordings

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) recorded voice and (b) creative output is considered biometric data for the purposes of regulation.

Julia Lopez: All organisations in the UK that process personal data, including biometric data, have to comply with the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).The UK GDPR defines biometric data as ‘personal data resulting from specific technical processing relating to the physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics of a natural person, which allow or confirm the unique identification of that natural person, such as facial images or dactyloscopic data’. This includes voice recognition, alongside other techniques.All biometric data is personal data, as it relates to an identified or identifiable individual. Biometric data is also special category data whenever you process it “for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person”. This means that biometric data will be Special Category Data in many cases.If an organisation considers that it is processing biometric data, but not for the purposes of uniquely identifying a natural living person, then they should clearly document their rationale alongside a risk based analysis of the use. In any event, the data should be handled in line with the data protection principles.The ICO has published guidance for organisations on the processing of special category and biometric data, which can be found here.

Television Licences: Concessions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to fund free TV licenses to help maintain BBC Local Radio.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with the BBC on the reasons for its decisions to reduce BBC Local Radio services.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in BBC local radio jobs on the supply of (a) journalists, (b) programmers, (c) technicians and (d) other staff in the public services broadcasting sector.

Julia Lopez: The Government recognises the important role that radio plays in terms of the provision of local news and information, and of community engagement, and is disappointed that the BBC is planning to reduce its local radio output.The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government as set out in its Royal Charter, and decisions on service delivery are a matter for the BBC. However, I will be meeting with the BBC to raise the questions and concerns that MPs have in regard to the BBC’s planned cuts to local radio.The Licence Fee Settlement, announced in January 2022, will see the BBC continue to receive around £3.8bn in annual public funding. We believe this is a fair settlement for the BBC and for licence fee payers across the UK, that allows the BBC to continue to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes and keep doing what it does best while not placing immediate additional financial pressure on households. It is up to the BBC to determine how to use its funding to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes, and the government is not considering providing the BBC with additional funding.Ofcom as the BBC’s regulator will ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its Mission and Public Purposes. It is for Ofcom to assess whether changes to the BBC’s local radio services constitutes a breach of the BBC’s obligations.It is the BBC’s responsibility to assess the impact of its proposed changes. The BBC has said that the changes will see BBC local staffing in England is expected to reduce by around 48 posts, with around 131 additional roles across BBC local news services, and around 139 fewer roles in audio teams as greater programme sharing is introduced. I will discuss the potential impacts of the cuts with the BBC’s leadership further in our upcoming meeting.

Swedish Psychological Defence Agency

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies on countering foreign malign information, influence, disinformation and other misleading information of the establishment of the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency.

Paul Scully: Disinformation is one of a range of tools used by hostile actors from foreign states to attempt to achieve their wider objectives. DCMS leads the operational and policy response for countering disinformation across HMG. This includes responding to acute information incidents, such as Russian information operations during the war in Ukraine, disinformation relating to COVID-19, and electoral events.The Government has amended the National Security Bill which strengthens our legislative response to state-linked disinformation aimed at the UK. The new Foreign Interference Offence brought forward in the National Security Bill will be named as a priority offence in the Online Safety Bill, forcing companies to proactively take action against a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and state-linked online interference.The UK, along with our G7 and NATO partners, is working hard to protect our democracies against disinformation. We work together with our allies on gaining a better understanding of the threat of mis and disinformation, and collaborating on our collective response.

Arts Council England: Investment

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason Arts Council England has delayed the announcement of organisations joining the 2023-26 Investment Programme.

Stuart Andrew: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 31 October to Question UIN 72284.I am pleased that the Arts Council England made this announcement on Friday 4 November 2022 and that organisations joining the 2023-26 Investment Programme have been informed of the outcome of their applications.

Commemorative Plaques

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) supporting the English Heritage Scheme to expand the Blue Plaque scheme outside of London and (b) including expansion of that scheme in the Government's levelling up agenda.

Stuart Andrew: I have not made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Blue Plaque scheme outside of London, as part of the levelling up agenda or otherwise. English Heritage Trust, which runs the scheme, offers free advice and guidance to anyone across the country seeking to put up a commemorative plaque.

Women and Equalities

Conversion Therapy

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with her counterparts and legislators in (a) Malta, (b) France, (c) Canada, (d) New Zealand, (e) Greece and the relevant regional or state governments of the (i) US, (ii) Spain and (iii) Australia on their legislation on banning conversion practices and their protection of transgender people.

Stuart Andrew: The Government has engaged with a wide range of international counterparts including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Malta, to understand the approaches they have taken to ban conversion therapy. We will continue to engage with counterparts around the world that are committed to protecting everyone from conversion practices to share insight and develop our approach.

Conversion Therapy

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what work has been undertaken by her Department on transgender conversion practices since the Government set out its plans on this topic in its background briefing to the Queen’s Speech in May 2022.

James Murray: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps her Department has taken to progress the Government plans published in its background briefing to the Queen’s Speech on further exploring the issue of transgender conversion practices.

Stuart Andrew: Since May 2022, the Government has launched a support service open to all victims or those at risk of conversion practices regardless of their background or circumstances. The Government has committed up to £360,000 over three years to this service. The service includes a helpline, instant messaging service, and website to enable people to get the support they need.More widely, the Government remains committed to protecting everyone from these practices. We are carefully considering the responses to the public consultation which closed earlier this year and will respond in due course.

Conversion Therapy: Scotland

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the recommendations of the Ending Conversion Practices Expert Advisory Group.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on banning sexual orientation and transgender conversion practices.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations made by the Ending Conversion Practices Expert Advisory Group in Scotland on 4 October 2022.

David Linden: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on banning sexual orientation and transgender conversion practices.

Stuart Andrew: The Government has been liaising with territorial offices and the devolved administrations including the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on this important issue.Officials will continue to work with their counterparts across the devolved administrations to discuss the UK Government’s approach to protecting everyone in England and Wales from conversion therapy practices.